Welcome back. Hope you touched some grass (or water) yesterday. I couldn’t stop thinking about Episodes 7 and 8 of The Bear (slight spoilers ahead).

“Every Second Counts.” That was a theme of the season.

It’s true. Especially in our world. But I’d add one that “Every Detail Counts.”

In one scene, someone noticed that a potential hire didn’t bother to rearrange the napkin and fork in front of them. They were set incorrectly on purpose to test the applicant’s attention to detail. They failed.

What details are you and your team hyperaware of? Your ad creative? Unboxing experience? Shelf placement? The lesson here is it should be everything. As founders and operators, we set the standard. If mediocrity exists in our orgs, it’s because we’ve allowed it. If it persists, it’s because we’ve allowed it. If it affects us… you get the point.

Now, I’m not saying to go on a firing spree per se. But ask yourself what standards you’ve held (or didn’t hold) your team members to. What standards have you held yourself to? Where have you lapsed in judgment, in detail, in decision-making? Where can you improve?

Think about it and get back to us. In the meantime, we have some content for us to cover.

But first, please answer this poll so we can learn more about you 😄 

In today’s email:

• WHAT TO DO NOW THAT IT’S Q3

• New FTC Rules: PAY ATTENTION or Get Fined. Hard.

• Using AI to Build Listicles

• BRAND OF THE WEEK