🎤 Quotable Quote
“People do business with people.”
— Don Philabaum
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This Week’s Curiosity: The Future Belongs to the Adaptable
When you’ve launched commencement photography firms, pioneered online communities, and led NIL-era innovation for student athletes, you probably know a thing or two about change.
This week on Leadership Rules, we chat with serial entrepreneur Don Philabaum, whose career has been guided by two powerful forces: curiosity and connection. From building virtual career coaches to designing AI mentorship tools for student athletes, Don’s leadership philosophy centers on preparing people for what’s next.. even when “what’s next” doesn’t exist yet.
In this episode, we explore:
👀 Why Gen Z understands AI better than most leaders
⚽ What corporate leaders can learn from student athletes
🧠 How virtual advisors could transform mentorship
🧩 The one human skill AI won’t outpace anytime soon
💡 Why embracing change is no longer optional
Don also gives his hot take on what Career Centers need to do now to remain relevant, and why it might mean letting go of the fear that AI is replacing you.
More Musings
🍪 Biscuits with the Boss
Icebreaker Question:
“What’s the most unexpected community you’ve ever been part of?”
Why it matters:
Don’s work reminds us that community shapes who we are and how we lead. This question encourages your team to reflect on the surprising spaces that gave them belonging, skills, or perspective.
How to use it:
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Go around and have each person share a “surprising” community they’ve been in.
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Ask: What did you learn there that shows up in your leadership today?
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Notice how diverse experiences build unexpected strengths.
🏅 Whistle. Whistle.
Leadership rule of the week: Build before it’s needed.
Don didn’t wait for social media trends—he created platforms for connection before people knew they wanted them. Leaders who anticipate rather than react put their teams in positions to win.
Roy Kent would say: stop waiting, start leading.
📚 Beard’s Collection
📖 Don Philabaum. Internet Dough: Make More Dough Marketing Online. ISG Press, 2007.
Practical strategies from Don himself on turning connection into a leadership advantage.
📖 Seth Godin. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. Portfolio, 2008.
Still the gold standard for understanding why communities follow leaders who create meaning.
📖 Adam Grant. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. Viking, 2021.
Don’s career is a case study in “rethinking.” This book reminds leaders to stay curious, flexible, and ready to pivot.
🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where
This popped in our memories this week! Last year Lead it Like Lasso won its first (and second!) book award that put us on the Nasdaq display. Surreal.
And we just saw our first press release of The Business of You. You can check it out here.
We have also been on so many podcasts, it is hard to keep up. We would like to hear from you - what is your favorite podcast?
Barbecue Sauce!
Marnie & Nick
🎁 Bring a Friend to the Weekly Curiosities!
Who in your life might smile with some curiosities in their inbox? Who might be a good guest for one of our podcasts? (Would you? Let us know!)
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