Dear Leaders,

Every now and then · by Hamza Shayk

People decisions

How to Run a Company in a Culture War, Part II

In 1915, Henry Ford was having a pretty good year.The moving assembly line had reduced the time required to build a Model T from twelve and a half hours to ninety-three minutes.

Aug 28, 2026

A Players, B Players, C Players

A few decades ago, I heard Bill Gates give an interview about Microsoft's success. People think Microsoft is a technology company, he said. It isn't. It's a company that hires.

Jul 24, 2026

How Our Labels Become Our Identity

I have a friend who is chronically late. Not occasionally late. Structurally late. Everyone who knows her automatically assumes she’ll arrive ten to X minutes after the agreed time.

May 7, 2026

That Dirty Word: Micromanagement

I hear it more often now, which usually means a word has begun doing damage. A highly successful executive sits across from me, lowers their voice, and confesses: “Hamza, I think I’m a micromanager.”

Apr 23, 2026

The Praetorian Problem

In 27 BC, Augustus Caesar created the Praetorian Guard. They were the handpicked elite of the Roman military, entrusted with protecting the emperor and preserving order.

Apr 2, 2026

The Unspoken Math of Executive Promotions

Most of us believe in meritocracy. We have to. We’ve spent decades outperforming peers, taking bigger roles, carrying larger P&Ls, and surviving environments where the margin for error gets thinner every year.

Feb 13, 2026

The Infinite Currency

It is December. You are knee-deep in the most grueling spreadsheet exercise of the year: The Bonus Pool. You are calibrating payouts, debating stock option grants, and moving percentage points around to make sure your top performers feel valued and your retention metrics stay green.

Dec 18, 2025

Are You Self-Aware or Just Self-Absorbed?

A couple of months ago a CEO told me, “I know I’m not great with people. I’m very self-aware about that.” Then, in the next twenty minutes, he proceeded to interrupt his CFO twice, dismiss a perfectly reasonable concern from his head of sales, and check his phone while his CMO was mid-sentence.

Nov 21, 2025

The Only Way Leadership Quality Actually Improves

Leadership quality is the single most valuable, and least measurable, asset a company has. It’s the only one that compounds across every other dimension simultaneously.

Nov 7, 2025

Hiring Today: You Fool Me, I Fool You

I just spent a half hour reviewing resumes for a simple analyst position. One candidate claimed to be “fluent in leveraging cross-platform ecosystems to drive holistic value creation.”

Aug 15, 2025

The Myth of Authentic Leadership: Why ‘Be Yourself’ Is Often Bad Leadership

We’ve convinced ourselves that good leadership means showing up as our “authentic selves.” That vulnerability builds trust. That transparency creates connection.

Aug 6, 2025

Smart People, Bad Decisions, and What To Do About It

The most dangerous people in an organization aren’t the obviously incompetent ones, because they can be identified easily. The real danger is the brilliant people who make terrible decisions while sounding completely reasonable.

Jul 30, 2025

When Emotional Intelligence Goes Too Far

Being able to read a room, handle difficult conversations, and connect with people on a human level is leadership gold. No debate there. But somewhere along the line, EQ stopped being one tool in the box and became the whole toolbox.

Jul 16, 2025

Executive Dilemmas: The 3 Brutal People Decisions Leaders Face

Every senior executive reaches a point where hard skills don’t matter anymore; only judgment does. The hardest leadership decisions then aren’t about operations or strategy.

Jul 9, 2025

The One Conversation You’re Avoiding

The longer we avoid a conversation, the more power it gains. Every leader has one. That conversation you keep pushing down the calendar. The one you tell yourself “isn’t urgent” or “needs the right moment.”

May 13, 2025

The Power of Instant Feedback

Waiting for the “right moment” to give feedback is usually a polite way of avoiding discomfort. We tell ourselves: “I’ll wait until they’re less stressed.”

May 6, 2025

What Story Will You Tell

Once upon a time... A CEO I worked with had to shut down a major division; over 100 people lost their jobs. He had the spreadsheets, the market data, and a rational case.

Apr 23, 2025

How to Delegate Without Losing Control

At your level, technical skills matter less. People skills and tact are more important. You already excel at doing the work. Now you must get the work done well — and at scale.

Apr 8, 2025

BY GENRE

Executive isolation

Organizational drag

Incentives and measurement

Judgment

People decisions

Power and politics

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ABOUT HAMZA

I advise CEOs and senior investment professionals on difficult decisions, executive development, and organizational performance. My clients lead public, private, PE-backed and family-owned companies, or hold senior roles at investment banks, asset managers and private equity firms.