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Read Time: 4 mins

Hot weather, slow brain? Same. I’m writing this from London which is currently experiencing a mini heat wave – and this week’s picks are all hot takes. What makes a manager great? How do you know if someone’s worth keeping? And what does “aliveness” have to do with AI? Small questions, clear answers – plus one prompt to help your ops team get stuff done.

Enjoy!

Brilliant or brutal? Netflix’s ‘tough love’ take on employment

At a time when most companies are churning out culture handbooks full of mission statements, Netflix’s original deck still cuts through the noise. Built around the idea of “freedom with responsibility,” it spelled out some uncomfortable truths – like “adequate performance gets a generous severance” – and refused to sugarcoat what it takes to build a high-talent, high-performance team. Some saw it as harsh, even ruthless. But with Netflix’s track record, it’s hard to argue with the results. The slide that still resonates with me is: “If this employee told you they were leaving, would you fight hard to keep them?” As an acid test, it doesn’t get much better than that. Check it out here.

Gen X: overlooked, underestimated – and holding the purse strings

According to the Ipsos Generations Report 2025, Gen X (aged 46–59) is now the highest-earning generation – yet you wouldn’t know it from most brand campaigns. They’re described as “quietly powerful”: less vocal than younger cohorts, but holding senior roles, running businesses and ready to spend. Beauty brands like Charlotte Tilbury have started paying attention – with campaigns fronted by Kylie Minogue and Kim Cattrall, and products tailored to mature skin. Others, from financial services to travel, are following suit. Gen X might not shout, but they shop – and brands that ignore them risk missing out. Read the report here.

Solving the UGC chaos problem

If you’ve ever tried to keep tabs on 24-hour Instagram Stories or sift through endless creator mentions of your brand, you’ll know how fast user-generated content can become unmanageable. That’s why a new platform called Archive piqued my interest. It automatically detects when your brand is tagged on Instagram or TikTok, saving and sorting that content in real time – so no more missed mentions or manual trawls. For teams overwhelmed by volume, it looks like a tidy backend fix to a messy front-end problem. If anyone’s tried it, I’d love to know your thoughts.

A minimalist guide to meaningful content

Nicole Fenton’s Tiny Content Framework offers a useful and simple take on content strategy, stripping it back to first principles and laying out prompts and modular templates to help teams clarify their message. From case study outlines to tone-of-voice checks, it’s designed for focus, not fuss. If your brand content is feeling vague, this is a great tool for cutting through.

AI won’t replace creativity – but it will test it

I used to go to Cannes Lions back in the day – usually armed with a pass, a pitch deck and a strong tolerance for rosé. The yacht-hopping had its moments, but I never much loved the backslapping. Next week, though, I suspect the tone will be different. Almost every panel will be grappling with the same question: what does AI really mean for the creative industries?

The new D&AD AI & Creativity Report offers one of the better answers. It maps seven key shifts already underway – from the ethics of authorship to the collapsing value of time – and asks what we still bring to the table when AI can mimic almost anything. The thing to keep in mind, it stresses is that: “AI is the intern. You are the creative director.” Download the report here.

Follow the feeling, not the prompt

Most conversations about AI focus on what it can do. Oliver Burkeman’s essay flips that, asking what we should hold onto. His guiding concept – aliveness – isn’t about happiness or output. It’s about feeling awake to your work, your relationships, your time. And it’s exactly what drains away when we hand too much over to tools that can imitate but not feel. Burkeman contrasts the AI future of artificial friends and hyper-efficiency with something more human: a life navigated by instinct, connection and meaning. In an age of productivity hacks and soulless output, it’s a refreshing stance.

Meta’s creative arms race

Two signals from Meta recently suggest a shift in how the ad world thinks about creative performance. First, a new report by Meta and Dentsu analyses over 1mn adverts and US $2.4bn in media spend, finding that emotional storytelling, distinctive characters and motivational cues consistently drive better outcomes. Notably, static ads can perform just as well as video – if the emotional hook lands. Second, Meta announced the rollout of generative AI tools to help advertisers produce campaign assets via simple text prompts. While pitched as a democratising force for small firms, the shift poses an implicit challenge to creative agencies. If Meta’s tools can deliver ad copy, assets and placement recommendations at scale, the role of external marketers may be increasingly squeezed.

Moodboards, not meltdowns: Pinterest’s summer state of mind

In the frenzied world of TikTok virality and X hot takes, Pinterest remains a more peaceful anomaly — a platform defined by planning, not panic. Its 2025 Summer Trends report highlights a shift in consumer mood, with rising interest in terms such as “main character energy”, “zen getaways” and “dopamine decor”. This is less about seasonal shopping, more about emotional intent – a window into how people are seeking calm, control and small moments of self-expression. For brands, the takeaway is not just aesthetic: understanding these underlying motivations could help shape more relevant, less reactive campaigns.

When storytelling builds equity: the rise of Wrexham AFC

According to a news report last week, Wrexham AFC – the small Welsh football club bought for $2.5m by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – is now valued at $475m. The club has sold a minority stake at a valuation nearly 200 times its 2020 price, fuelled by the docuseries boom, viral social content and global fan engagement. It’s a case study in how storytelling (plus some Hollywood clout, to be fair) can unlock real equity growth. For founders, it’s a reminder: the story is the product – and if you get it right, attention compounds like capital. Find out more here.

AI prompt of the week: make efficiency your competitive edge

Everyone’s talking about GenAI as a creativity tool. But some of its most immediate wins are deeply unsexy: better handovers, faster documentation, smoother operations. This prompt helps you clean up the workflows that drain time, budget and brainpower.

You are a senior operations consultant. Audit our current workflow for [specific process, e.g. client onboarding, marketing approvals, procurement]. Identify inefficiencies, redundancies and opportunities for automation. Recommend steps to improve speed, consistency and resource use – without increasing risk. Then:​
– Draft a clear, best-practice SOP for this task​
– Estimate the impact of saving 5–10 minutes per task at scale (daily/weekly/monthly)​
– Benchmark this workflow against best-in-class operators in our sector – what would they do differently

The language of great managers

This one-pager distils what separates good managers from great ones – and it all comes down to how they communicate. Rather than defaulting to corporate clichés or command-and-control instructions, the best leaders use language that’s collaborative, clear and human.

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Drop me a line

Thanks for reading. As ever, I’d love to hear what’s caught your attention lately – articles, tools, prompts or just left-field insights. Hit reply if you’ve got something worth sharing or want to dig deeper into any of the above. See you next Sunday.

Cheers!
Adam

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