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Talking to builders, brand leads, and the people making product decisions in categories where "pro" is everything.
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Know Your Role: What Rode and Splice Just Taught Us About Deploying AI
Peter Block wrote about consultants. But his framework applies anywhere one party is deploying capability on behalf of another. Two moves in music tech this week prove it.
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Does Expertise Really Matter Any More?
On mastery, AI, and what it actually means to build for "pro" In 2008, Malcolm Gladwell reframed the American dream in his book Outliers through the 10,000 hour rule: If you work hard and long enough you can achieve mastery in any skill or field. The implication was clear: success is within reach for each of us and is ours to claim. All that's necessary is to put in the time and work, and have access to the right tools. Furthermore, his premise carried with it several unchallenged, widely acce
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The problem with primary research... and its potential
The only way to get better insights is to address common research mistakes.
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3 Annual Planning Frameworks and When To Use Them
If planning is overwhelming... fear not. These are the strategic frameworks that work.
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Downloads worth keeping.
PDFs, carousels, research findings, and brand breakdowns — all built from real category work. Take what's useful.
Real Pros Don't Want Slop
What We Heard at NAMM 2026: Insights from 30+ pro audio brands & creators on AI, tech, and where the market is going.
The Everything Trap
Why trying to win everywhere is how brands lose, and the positioning moves that fix it.
What Makes a Brand Timeless
The patterns behind brands that outlast trends, categories, and competition.
Weekly Picks
Weekly Edit
Every week, we list a song that mirrors the energy of the work that week. Productivity, creativity, and the rhythm that keeps it all moving.
The Beatnuts · Props Over Here (05.01.26)
FOR WALKING INTO ANY ROOM WITH YOUR CREW'S ENERGY.
▶ Spotify
Q-Tip · Kamaal The Abstract (04.24.26)
FOR SHIPPING THE WORK AND LETTING IT COMPOUND.
▶ Spotify
John Coltrane · Giant Steps (04.17.26)
FOR RAISING YOUR SKILLS & PRACTICE TO AN ELITE LEVEL.
▶ Spotify
Magic City Hippies · Enemies (04.10.26)
FOR A GUMMY GROOVE THAT TAKES YOU ON A JOURNEY.
▶ Spotify
spill tab · CRÈME BRÛLÉE! (04.03.26)
FOR BALANCING REINVENTION WITH RESPECT.
▶ Spotify
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah · So What (03.20.26)
FOR REINVENTION WITH RESPECT.
▶ Spotify
Big Data · Dangerous (03.19.26)
FOR FINDING RESTRAINT & STRATEGIC SILENCE TO MAKE AN IMPACT.
▶ Spotify
Weather Report · Cucumber Slumber (03.12.26)
FOR REWRITING THE PLAYBOOK AND FUSING THE OLD AND NEW.
▶ SpotifyClick to listen on Spotify.