No. 328 | April 17, 2026
Welcome to Friday Five, a short dose of ideas to start the weekend with clarity.
Keep things simple. Think small. Move fast. Take risks. Experiment. Define success on your own terms. That’s this week’s theme.
If this resonates, forward it to someone who’d enjoy it. Most readers discover Friday Five through a friend.
This Week in Friday Five
🎵 Three songs to start with: Nelly
💬 Keep it simple
📝 Sam Walton on thinking small
📚 How Google thinks, works, scales
🎙️ Exploding Kittens’ unlikely path to success
Music of the Week
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., known as Nelly, is a rapper, singer, and actor from St. Louis.
He’s won Grammys and Billboard Music Awards across a decades-long career.
Start with “E.I.,” “Pimp Juice,” and “Air Force Ones.”
🎵 Nelly
Quotes of the Week
Pay attention. Observe your thoughts. Avoid negativity. The best things are simple and lead to a simpler life. These capture it:
- “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci
- “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein
- “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius
- “It is not daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” – Bruce Lee
- “There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.” – Leo Tolstoy
Article of the Week
“What’s wrong with changing? If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” – Sam Walton
Walmart wasn’t an overnight success. It took two decades. Thinking small drove its growth.
It also scaled through talent. Walton hired the best people he could find, especially where he was weak.
He spotted talent and enforced constant change. Complacency leads to stasis. Stasis leads to death.
He pushed constant change and reminded everyone to think small. That’s why it scaled.
Walmart grew by thinking small. It was unconventional. Small towns went against conventional wisdom. Walton didn’t care.
For more on Walton, Walmart, and thinking small, read:
📝 How Sam Walton Built a $50 Billion Company by Thinking Small Strategy
Book of the Week
In the Plex explains Google’s edge: engineering, speed, risk-taking, and experimentation.
Google’s story includes internal disagreement, failed bets like social media, the danger of chasing competitors, tension with regulators, and how it handled key employees leaving.
Enduring lessons:
- Focus on long-term value over short-term gains
- Build products so good they market themselves
- Hire exceptional people aligned with an ambitious vision
- Move fast and make yesterday obsolete
- Stay relentlessly focused on the user
- Don’t chase competitors—build something better
- Launch early and iterate often
- The only true failure is not attempting something bold
For more on Google, its founders, and the company, read:
📚 In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
Podcast of the Week
Exploding Kittens began as a deck of cards modified with a Sharpie. Humble beginnings.
Then Kickstarter—a $10,000 goal turned into nearly $9 million. Off to the races.
Co-founder Elan Lee joins How I Built This to tell the story—from taking apart toys to designing Halo to leaving Microsoft.
A lesson in how smart marketing and storytelling can build a brand without big spend.
For more, listen:
🎙️Exploding Kittens: Elan Lee—How Cat-Themed Russian Roulette Changed Game Night Forever
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