No. 304 | October 24, 2025
Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a quick dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start your weekend with clarity and purpose.
Music of the Week
Carl Cox is a legendary DJ, producer, and motorcycle racing team owner based in Australia.
Active since the 1980s, he’s won countless awards along the way and inspired generations of DJs.
I recently came across his Boiler Room Ibiza Villa Takeovers DJ Set—it’s an absolute masterclass in energy and flow.
Quotes of the Week
“Build up, don’t tear down.” It’s a framework I’ve been trying to live by—these quotes remind me to keep that focus.
“I don’t tear down. I prefer to build up.” – Andre Leon Talley
“Don’t try to tear down other people’s religion … Build up your own perfect structure of truth, and invite your listeners to enter in and enjoy its glories.” – Brigham Young
“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” – William J. H. Boetcker
Article of the Week
“Like most of the great turning points in history, it was obvious and yet no one saw it coming.” – Mark Bowden
An inflection point happens when the old way of doing something no longer works—a new paradigm is in order.
Andy Grove of Intel argued that spotting inflection points is key to survival—like recognizing when customer behavior quietly shifts beneath you.
Intel faced an inflection point during the memory chip crisis. Grove described it in Only the Paranoid Survive like tectonic plates shifting beneath your feet.
Rapid change often feels like loss—but Grove reminds us that the only way through despair is decisive action.
For more on Andy Grove, inflection points, and business survival, check out my article:
📝 Andy Grove Inflection Point: A Guide to Business Survival
Book of the Week
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soulby Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon is the story of Schultz’s return as CEO during the financial crisis.
Starbucks, like most businesses during the crisis, was getting crushed—and Schultz had to find a way back to profitability.
One of the keys to the turnaround was how Schutlz reinvented the brand. It wasn’t about just winning—it was about winning the right way.
The book is a narrative showing the maturation of Starbucks and Schultz. No matter how dark it got, Schultz saw light at the end of the tunnel.
For more on Schultz and the dark days of Starbucks, check out:
📚 Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
Podcast of the Week
Ed Stack—a name I didn’t know, but a brand I certainly did: Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Stack built the brand from a scrappy family store into an 800-store behemoth with billions in sales.
He nearly lost everything building Dick’s. Not just once but multiple times.
His story offers countless lessons. A few stand out: good businesses don’t need debt, not knowing what you’re doing can be an advantage, and you should always bet on yourself.
For more on Ed Stack and Dick’s Sporting Goods, listen to:
🎧 Ed Stack: Lessons from Dick’s Sporting Goods
Enjoyed the read? Hit reply and let me know what stood out—or forward this to a friend who might appreciate it too.
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