Frank Slootman, in Amp It Up, acknowledges the need to focus on execution first, strategy second, because good execution will become a source of competitive advantage, That said, he also acknowledges “there are tons of articles and books on the topic of business strategy but relatively few on execution.” Well, here is one of those books. And it’s fantastic. Bossidy & Charan focus on the three interwoven dimensions of good execution: Ensuring the right people are in the right roles (people process) Ensuring the business is focused on the right things (strategy process as a component of good execution)

This is a repost of a Twitter thread originally shared on July 22, 2022. It has been edited and revised slightly for long-essay format. After spending several weeks in Hunan, it was time to move onto the next location - Hubei Province. My destination was Ezhou City. Here, I would get the chance to visit tiny rural villages and learn the importance of China’s “New Countryside” initiative. Never heard of Ezhou City?

If you’ve ever considered becoming a paid subscriber, here’s my annual end-of-year plea to take the plunge (and if you’ve never considered it…I urge you to consider it.) Subscribing gets you access to extra essays, but it’s also just a way to support the ongoing effort if you enjoy reading these. Subscribe in the next week to get 20% off (annual subscriptions only). Happy New Year! One of my more vivid memories from the haze of Y2K-era television is an MTV Cribs episode in which Tommy Lee reveals the fully staffed Starbucks that he’s installed inside his Malibu house.

UPDATE, MARCH 4: The final bid came in at $82,600, not quite the six figures I thought we’d see, but still an impressive number. The money will go toward funding new booths and floors at Holsten’s, which the owner said would cost about $60,000,reports the New York Times. Now the buyer has to cart the thing out of there, which includes the seats, the table, a plaque and a divider, but not the jukebox seen in the final episode — that was a filming prop.

On July 28 and 29, Elancourt Hill, the highest point in the Paris region of France, will host the mountain bike events for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Everything that happens in a UCI XCO race from now until someone lights the flame in Paris focuses on getting to the start line of France's own Mount Trashmore (Elancourt Hill is a former sand quarry and was used as a landfill until 1975).