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Some weeks, brilliance feels overrated. Just quietly getting on with business and avoiding missteps is better than brainstorming a million new ideas. This issue is about those moves – the understated, underhyped things that help you build steadier and more interesting companies. The kind of work that doesn’t trend, but sticks.

Enjoy!

First, do no harm: the business case for caution

Most progress doesn’t come from rare brilliance – it comes from consistently avoiding obvious mistakes. That’s the core of a timeless Farnam Street piece built around Charlie Munger’s favourite tool: inversion thinking. Instead of asking how to win, ask how to fail – then don’t do those things. It’s how investors stay solvent, founders avoid tanking good ideas with bad habits and what separates amateur tennis players from the professionals. In high-velocity environments, reducing unforced errors beats chasing genius. Worth a read – and maybe a re-read when things feel frantic.

Brand purpose isn’t dead – it’s just misunderstood

If you’ve rolled your eyes at yet another “purpose-led” campaign, you’re not alone. But sustainability strategist Callum Towler makes a strong case for not throwing the whole thing out. In a punchy essay, he dismantles six common myths – including the idea that purpose must be altruistic, morally pure or somehow separate from commercial goals. He argues that purpose isn’t about saving the world – it’s about having a clear, motivating reason for your company to exist beyond just revenue. When it’s specific and put into practice – not just framed on a wall – it drives better decisions, clearer messaging and more focused teams. Get the lowdown here.

How AI is gaming virality – and why it matters

In an unsettling essay, best-selling author and journalist Will Storr investigates whether some of Substack’s most viral posts are written by people at all. He explores the idea that AI models are trained to mimic the tone and emotional pacing of high-performing personal essays – producing content that feels human but is algorithmically optimised to provoke. It’s copy that that feels profound, he says, yet lacks genuine insight. Storr’s bigger point is cultural: if everyone learns to write like a hit post, creativity flattens into formula. Find out here what happens when emotional storytelling gets gamed.

Marketing and sales finally kiss and make up – thanks to AI

If AI can write convincingly human essays, can it also help human teams get along? That’s the premise of a piece in MarTech, which argues that AI might finally bridge the marketing–sales divide. By automating lead scoring, tracking content performance and unifying data, AI helps replace gut feel and guesswork with a shared source of truth – something that’s often talked about, rarely delivered. Less friction, fewer finger-pointing meetings – and more time spent converting people. Get the story here.

Stamps, scents and a smart banking feature

Here are three quirky little activations that have caught my attention in the last week. StampFans is championing snail mail, through a platform that helps creators send physical letters, postcards and booklets to subscribers – part newsletter, part nostalgia trip. McDonald’s Netherlands is playing the same sensory game with scent-diffusing billboards that smell unmistakably like fries – no logo needed. And in a more digital corner, Monzo has launched an “undo payment” feature that gives users 15 seconds to take back a transaction – a small but brilliantly human fix for a very modern panic. Three different brands, one common thread: simplicity, surprise and a bit of emotional intelligence.

What problem do you solve? Depends on who’s asking

Positioning a horizontal SaaS product is hard. You’ve got multiple use cases, cross-functional appeal and no single persona to hang your hat on. In a concise LinkedIn post, B2B tech expert Anthony Pieri breaks down a four-layered approach to the question “What problem are you solving?” – from high-level industry pain (for investors and PR) to team and individual-level pain (for sales and outbound). It’s a useful mental model for any PLG business struggling to balance scale with specificity. Not everything belongs on your homepage – and this is a good way to figure out what does.

What I'm reading

Invention: A Life by James Dyson isn’t a glossy founder memoir – it’s a book about obsession. Dyson tells the story of building 5,126 failed prototypes before landing on the one that worked. But what I found more interesting is how much he credits inexperience. He talks about not hiring “experts”, because they knew too much about why things wouldn’t work. It’s not a humblebrag. It’s a genuinely curious, detailed look at how persistence and not knowing the rules can sometimes be your biggest advantages. Check it out here.

AI prompt of the week: build a crisis comms response plan

Sometimes (hopefully not too often), you’ll find yourself in a PR crisis where a swift and well-judged response is key. Here’s the prompt you need.

“You are a senior crisis communications advisor with experience guiding scale-ups and listed firms through reputational risk.

My company is [brief description of company and industry]. We are currently facing a PR crisis. Here’s what’s happened: [insert issue clearly].

Here’s how we’re addressing it:
– [Brief summary of actions taken so far, e.g. internal investigation started, service restored, CEO informed, legal counsel engaged]
– [If applicable: what we know / don’t yet know]
– [Any immediate actions or mitigation plans in place]

Please build a clear comms response plan covering:
– Priority audiences (e.g. employees, customers, media, regulators, investors)
– Recommended order and timing of outreach
– Suggested message outlines for each audience
– Who should deliver each message and through what channels
– Any messaging risks or sensitivities to flag
– First 12–24 hour actions to get control of the situation
– Optional: a short holding statement to acknowledge the issue if needed”

How people are really using GenAI in 2025

According to new data published in Harvard Business Review, the most common use of generative AI this year isn’t coding or strategy – it’s answering the question “How do I…?” Users are turning to AI for help with everything from marketing plans and product ops to tax filings, legal wording and even mental health support. What’s most interesting is the collapse of the personal–professional divide: the same person might ask for feedback on a sales email in one prompt, and advice on their pension in the next. But search tools like Google aren’t just losing ground to AI – people are now trusting communities and creators over links. Experts are calling it the ‘decentralisation of discovery’ and you can find a good primer on it here.

37 tools every founder should know

From funding and legal to marketing and productivity, this roundup pulls together the top resources for entrepreneurs. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling fast, it’s a great guide to finding the right tool (or book) at the right moment.

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Drop me a line

That’s a wrap for this week. As ever, the founder to-do list is long – but if there’s one thing to take from this edition, it’s that clarity beats cleverness and not every problem needs a hero solution. Back soon with more field notes from the frontline of entrepreneurship.

Cheers!
Adam

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