While I Was Writing Today’s Signal // Noise:

Listen to this wild-ass pianist let it rip…

From sound to signal—let’s get this baby rolling with what’s on my mind…

One big idea, insight, or take - grounded in the real work, not theory.

Last week we got clear on who your community should be for—and who it shouldn’t be.

That’s your foundation. But once you’ve narrowed the profile, the bigger question becomes: can this thing survive without you micromanaging every event, channel, and interaction? Cause trust me, you will burn out if that’s the strategy, and, the value is sure to erode at some point.

But I’ll be totally honest, when I stepped into the CEO role at Hampton, my impulse was to micromanage the shit out of this thing — high-production retreats, polished dinner series, incredibly impressive speakers, and non-stop value through Slack.

I mean how would you feel around a few hundred wildly impressive tech founders - you’d want to wow the shit out of them, right?

And, I assumed, that’s what they paid for, right?

But… as I learned, sure, they of course had high expectations and liked very nice things, but, they came more for each other than anything else.

Sure, we had a classic (and awesome) array of speakers - everyone from Andy Dunn of Bonobos to Rob Dyrdek to Kevin Ryan of MongoDB.

But the events that sold out, week after week after week, were the ones that were member-led. And the content that was most valuable, most exciting - was just our team surveying our own members, aggregating the data and sharing the results.

That’s when it clicked: member-led value doesn’t happen by accident.

You have to design for it.

And the way you do that is through intentional decentralization.

Early on, you model the behavior — structure the communications, seed conversations, show what “good” looks like. But then, slowly, you hand over the reins.

Decentralization is the safeguard.

If the community falls apart without you, it was never a community — just a personal brand with a group chat. The ones that last — YPO, EO, Tiger 21 — thrive because the magic lives at the edges, in the hands of the members.

Your job? Spark it, show how, then drop the mic 🎙️

Dispatches from the field - lessons, stories, interviews, experiments.

At The Motley Fool, I once led a $30M campaign that missed by close to half.

Instead of hiding, I stood in front of 300 people and walked through every mistake, slide by slide. The surprising upside was: more trust, more connection, more respect.

That’s when I learned two things: humility beats bravado, and the “We/I Rule” changes how people see you—wins are we, mistakes are I.

Enjoy part 1 of the Operators Guide to Leadership:

Smart reads, sharp tools, or internet gems.

Legendary VC Bill Gurley lays out the double-edged sword of avoiding the public markets — how staying private can protect you, but also prevent real accountability. Tons of insight here for any founder thinking about scale, governance, and what transparency actually means.

A lot of financial planners run Monte Carlo simulations and aim for a 90–95% success rate. But for most people, it’s probably way too conservative. This piece breaks down why a 70–80% success rate might actually lead to a better life now — especially for folks over-saving out of fear.

Yes, I still read magazines, and Cooks is one of my faves. Last month I found out about chaganju koji, which is a Japanese traditional all-purpose umami seasoning made from rice paste. Tried it on flank steak last week. Felt like I was in a Tokyo izakaya. 10/10 banger.

If you’ve built something that runs without you — a team, a business, a community, a life system — I’d love to hear how you did it (or what broke along the way).

Hit reply and tell me one thing you’ve let go of that made everything work better.

Love yous.

Jordan