Friday's Five ✋ #450
Edition 450. And something new.
Happy Friday! ☀️
This is the 450th Friday’s Five. I’ve been writing this newsletter nearly every Friday for almost nine years. That’s a lot of links.
For most of that time, these five links were everything I shared publicly. Behind the scenes, I’ve spent the past decade coaching leadership teams at startups, scale-ups, and corporations across Europe. The frameworks, conversations, and tools I use in those rooms stayed in those rooms.
That’s changed.
I built something. For years I've been looking for a creative outlet to share what I've learned as an operator and coach. And for just as long, participants in my leadership journeys have been asking: how do I go back to what we covered? Both of those things now live in one place. It's the closest thing to having my coaching frameworks, practice conversations, and reflection tools available to you directly, whenever you need them. Not a course. Not a library. Something that stays with you. The first 10 frameworks are available for today’s launch. In the coming months, this collection will continuously grow.
If you’re a leader, becoming one, or know someone: this is for you.
You heard it here first: Founding Member pricing is available for the first 50 members: €199 per year or €299 lifetime. If you can support me, I’d be very curious to hear what you think after you had a first look.
What I’m reading 📖
Walter Isaacson’s Leonardo da Vinci has been the perfect companion this week, in more ways than one. Isaacson paints a full portrait of the man behind the paintings: endlessly curious, deeply observant, a courageous inventor who was centuries ahead of his time. What struck me most is how modern he feels. The notebooks, the unfinished projects, the obsessive studying of things most people walk past without noticing. All of this in the late 15th and early 16th century. A period in history I find endlessly fascinating and one where I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during his work and experiments. More about the book.
What I’m listening to 🎧
At first listen, I placed 26-year old Maisie Peters somewhere in Nashville in a clean succession line from Taylor Swift. Less stadium pop, more folk with a touch of country. Then the more time spent with her recent album Florescence, the more the picture shifted. Turns out she's from Brighton. When the duet with Mumford & Sons' Marcus Mumford arrived, it all clicked. And then came the third-to-last track, Girls Just Flying-my favorite song on the album–and that was it. Smitten.
What I’m watching 📺
Always had a soft spot for content that deconstructs music I love. Randomly found this six-year-old video simply titled What Makes This Song Great and this episode covers The Scientist by Coldplay. Every man's secret favorite emotive song. Producer Rick Beato breaks down exactly what makes it work, and once you hear it explained you can't unhear it.
What I’m thinking about 🧠
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” — Leonardo da Vinci
What else?! 💯
Time flies, it’s June already. Which means the May playlist is done. Hit play for some classics from The Stone Roses, new discoveries by Philine Sonny, or summer soundtracks from Young The Giant.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!
David
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