Something different
It’s been six months since I last sent a newsletter.
It's been a busy year - participating in inspiring professional development, meeting wonderful new people who are teaching me a ton, and working with leaders and teams on the messy problems that never quite get solved - trust, decision-making, and performance. I kept noticing the same patterns showing up in that work and in my old research on how people present themselves strategically.
So I’ve been writing something I’ve rarely written before in a professional context: Fiction.
I’ve created a 6-part fiction series about a CEO, his unconventional coach, and the dating app that reveals why his team doesn’t trust him. It’s called “The Profile.”
It draws on research - both mine and others’ - about impression management, strategic self-presentation, and what happens when everyone’s performing and no one’s connecting.*
But it’s told as story, not a framework. Real characters, real stakes, real conversations.
Part 1 drops next Friday, right here on Substack, and new parts will publish every week.
This is an experiment for me. I’m curious what resonates, what doesn’t, and whether fiction can surface insights that frameworks can’t.
Thanks for being here. And happy 2026!
*If you’re interested in what I’ve published as a dating app researcher, you can find some key articles here, here, and here.
