Jamie Flinchbaugh, Founder of JFlinch

A Gratitude Post I've been thinking a bit through my career path and all I have to be grateful for. In the end, that gratitude is not for titles, money, or really any outcome but relationships. 1/

Bending Spoons is buying Miro. Is that good or bad for Miro users? Well... that depends. For power users they are likely to see higher prices but ultimately a more stable and sustainable platform. For light users and for free users, they are likely going to want to switch to a different platform.

What did Fed Chair Kevin Warsh teach us about decision making? Under the hood as he talked about guidance, he shared two really useful lessons about important decisions that apply far beyond the Fed

How do you define your unique value as a solo consultant? I believe most consultants do this wrong, focusing on their past and on themselves. You must define your unique value based on what your clients will receive from you and your resume is just evidence that that's possible.

Your failures in digital transformation will be the same failures you have for Agentic AI. This isn't about whether AI can figure stuff out. Of course it can but if you want to do something well, you have to have some control over your data, your standards, your process, your decision rules...

Are you taking supply chain risk seriously? Most companies know it's important but are doing nothing. Other companies are paying attention to it through a few meetings and metrics but not really investing in it. Only a few are taking it so seriously that it is changing how they allocate resources.

Is executive FOMO leading to bad decisions, and bad leadership, when it comes to AI deployment?

The Fed held steady, but what's next for inflation and interest rates? And what are the lessons from the COVID shock to the system? Do we have inflation or not is the wrong question, but instead we need to understand if it's structural

A missing key to strategy from Apollo 13. Tom Hanks asks "gentlemen, what are your intentions?" While this is a very human moment in the moment, it also provides a hint to what is often a missing element in strategy execution

Is there a critical helium supply problem we're not talking about? This is crucial in semiconductor manufacturing, and it's more complicated than whether or not the Straight of Hormuz is closed.

What does headcount reduction mean at the IRS? Americans paid their taxes this week. Well, some of their taxes. Tax fraud and underpayment are certainly going to go up as audits go down. The government balance sheet is what suffers.

What will drive a recession? Of course oil prices are a major factor. But this isn't just about math, it's about psychology, and the consumers are in charge

There's a gap about AI usage between execs and employees, and it's going to cause problems. One of the leading causes of "workslop" is forced AI usage, and not only does it not move an organization forward but generates waste, lack of trust, and more

How did a Crimini Research memo crater financial stocks? For starters, it states right front that it's a scenario and not a prediction. But this scenario is based almost entirely of reinforcing dynamics, and for the systems thinkers in the room, is absent the balancing loops that are always at play.

What can we learn from Alysa Liu's Gold Medal in ice skating? It's about agency over your work, and getting fulfillment from the work and process and not just the outcome

The Supreme Court says tariffs are illegal. Why isn't there more celebrating? Here's why...there is no clarity. New tariffs will be issued. The legality of those will take months to sort. Will collected tariffs be repaid? No one knows. Trade policy and economic forecasts are all up in the air

Are Williams Sonoma ads on ChatGPT targeting lower income users? I kinda doubt it What will be the financial model that supports AI platforms? Are ads inevitable? And will they destroy the relative integrity of answers from the models

What can we learn from all the new CEOs? The data about high CEO turnover says a lot about how companies, and their boards of directors, are thinking about their needs.

How do you split founder equity? Entrepreneurs face this challenge early in their process and often aren't ready for the conversation. Here are some guideposts to follow for your startup

Did Super Bowl commercials tip the scale towards Claude from ChatGPT, or was that already happening? Many are trying to predict who will win. I think it's the wrong question. As a user we should be a curious experimentor, not a locked in zealot

Epictetus’ instructions: - Separate things into what you control and what you don’t - Choose not to be complicit in getting offended - Prep for adversity in advance - Realize every situation has 2 handles—grab the right one - Memento Mori—let death put everything in perspective

The hidden insight that fueled Indiana's national title. We all look for leverage but often don't find it in old assumptions and overused logic. Indiana didn't rely on this and they accomplished something amazing. Where might you find your leverage?

Is AI replacing employees? Not really. Despite news reports, AI is not doing the entire job of AI. But there are real threats, and as always, opportunities. #ai #aistrategy #workforceplanning #economy #management

Are you setting goals for the year? Get out the pickaxe first. Not everything we have built is good, useful, serving us well, or comes without unintended consequences. We should also be looking at chipping away and what we've built that doesn't serve us well

Will HR be more strategically important in the coming years? I think yes. There is some empirical evidence that CEOs are more thoughtful about who their CHRO is #hr #humanresources #humanresourcedevelopment #humanresourcemanagement #chro #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #culture #management

Is the acquisition of Warner Discovery by either Netflix or Paramount anticompetitive? The dynamic for this industry was set in stone many years ago #streamingservices #antitrust #strategy #entertainmentnews #entertainmentindustry #mergersandacquisitions

Tariffs on India and Brazil are major economic and geopolitical factors to watch. Brazil is good at many things the US is not. India is a key ally for so many reasons, we need a new path forward. #tariffs #tariffstrategy #tradepolicy #supplychainmanagement #supplychain

Should your company have a Board of Directors or Advisors? Whether the business is family-owned, private equity-owned, a startup, the answer is yes. And between the two, I strongly favor a Board of Directors for most situations. #governance #boardofadvisors #boardofdirectors #strategy

What core capability is never going out of style? In a VUCA world, dealing with AI and geopolitical chaos and supply chain disruption, what skill remains relevant through it all? Being a learner, whether as an intensely curious individual or as a learning organization

This @nwsl Gotham v KC match has been very poorly refereed. I want to watch this league more but it's hard to take seriously when the refs in just in over their heads

Struggling with the news? Here's my take on how I engage jflinch.substack.com/p/change-you...

@mitsmr.bsky.social why can't I access your Work/25 event??? I've paid for it and have an event landing page, but no actual event to join

Should you be rethinking your decision making process? Here's some thoughts to consider youtube.com/shorts/3j-7-...

Thoughts on the importance of Fed independence

Latest talking point from the right is "tariffs are nothing new" perhaps coming from Fox News, and arguing this is just the same as has been done for decades. Controlled burns to prevent out of control forest fires are also not new. Napalming the entire forest is different though.

There couldn't be clearer evidence that this President is transactional versus principled. Raise tariffs on China but relieve restrictions on important technology. This isn't even about China to him, just favors and deals

You can't avoid being a victim of FOMO without sometimes missing out. You have to be ok with that.

One scenario for how tariff negotiations go down

$6 Trillion in market value erased this week

As a leader, do you know when to stop pushing? The concept is activation energy. There will be more on this in a future video

I wrote this piece 25 years ago to help struggling manufacturing companies, but the core message is relevant to just about everyone today.

My latest on SubStack, exploring my journey through the world of coffee. Did I skip any important steps? Is focusing on great home-brewed espresso a great landing spot?

Happy Pi Day. To all the engineers out there who make the world a better place, kudos to you!

When do, and should, Directors resign from the Board of Directors? It's important to note that you can't "run away" from problems as it's a breach of fiduciary duty. As corporate boardroom drama plays out, this should be watched.

Microsoft invents new state of matter? Science isn't dead. If government will discard science, the private sector will have to keep science moving forward.

My client schedule has been quite full so I wasn't really looking for new clients. I freed up some space, and just brought in my first new client in a while. I actually forgot what a thrill it can be to begin working with a new client.

NEW: Employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency tell WIRED they’re struggling to protect the US while the administration dismisses their colleagues and poisons their partnerships.

This chart seems to suggest that something is going wrong in the United States, specifically. (www.ft.com/content/7568... )

Only two years ago, we were in the middle of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis with incredibly effective federal intervention that not only saved banks but startups and individuals. I wonder if they would have the ability to pull that off again, if needed. If we enter a period of stagflation, it will