No #145 | September 15, 2024

by Matthew Boyd

Good morning, welcome to the weekly Lead It Cool newsletter.

Editor's Note: Starting in October, this newsletter will transition from a weekly to a monthly schedule. This change will free up some time for a few other creative projects I’m excited to focus on during the weekends. I'll share more details in the coming weeks.

In this week's Lead It Cool newsletter:

• 🐻The (Good) Bear
• ❎Election Season
• 🛒The Shopping Car Theory
• 🤣Cups
• 😎Cool Links

🐻The (Good) Bear

The best show on television right now is The Bear (Don’t @ me!).

The combination of complex, flawed characters and the high-stakes world of the restaurant industry make the show irresistible. The show is so intense sometimes that I've actually checked my heartrate during certain episodes, and it was higher than normal (therefore, watching this show is the same as exercising... right?!?).

Spoiler Warning: A couple very minor spoilers below

In Season 2, there’s a really memorable scene where Richie, one of the main characters, is “staging” at a Michelin-starred restaurant ("staging" in the restaurant world means interning).

Richie has a heart-to-heart conversation with another restaurant worker who’s asked why he continues to work in such a high-pressure environment.

The answer?

It’s the love of making people feel good, the pure joy that comes from acts of service. The worker goes on to explain that there's a reason the words "hospital" and "hospitality" share the same root: they both focus on caring for others.

This moment is a reminder that joy can be found in the simplest acts of service, no matter the setting. While I don’t have scientific proof, I believe our brains naturally collect the smiles and moments of joy we encounter throughout the day, and it’s those small interactions that leave us feeling truly fulfilled.

So, I encourage you to do two things:

1. Watch The Bear (I’d love to chat with you about it).
2. Find opportunities to serve others, whether it’s in your job, your community, or your personal life. There's something deeply human about making other people smile.

❎Election Season

I'm currently reading Erik Larson's latest book The Demon of Unrest.

It's about the events that unfolded just before the American Civil War.

One of the key themes of the book is the American election system and the peaceful transfer of power. There is an Abraham Lincoln quote in the book that feels particularly poignant for this moment in time we're currently living in:

🛒The Shopping Cart Theory

Based on this "theory" there are three types of people:

1. The people that return their carts
2. The people that don't return their carts
3. The people that return their carts and other peoples' carts

Which one are you?🤔

🤣Cups

This is 🎯🤣

😎Cool Links

🎵Leadership Lessons Via The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal. Trust and loyalty are built over time through genuine care and investment in people. Successful leadership, as exemplified by The Hip, is not about individual achievements but the strength of the collective. It's about fostering a deep sense of collaboration that elevates everyone involved.

🚂My Family Can Never Agree on a Movie. But We Can Always Agree on This Board Game. It's the greatest game of all time!

🤔The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories. Excellent podcast.

📝The Surprising Reason Writing Remains Essential in an AI-Driven World. Great writing requires you to position your idea in a way that will resonate with the reader. Average writers start with what they want to say without considering how it will land with the reader. Great writers understand the journey starts with what the reader desires. Think of the difference as starting at the beginning or the end of a maze. When you start at the beginning, you have to convince people the path is the right one. When you start at the end, they already know you’re taking them where they want to go.

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Let’s connect! 💬 You can find me on LinkedIn and Twitter