Feeding your mind, feeding your business

#WeeklyNRG – A Snapshot of All Things #NRG

This week’s theme? Feeding your mind, feeding your business — how the stories we read and reflect on can sharpen the way we lead, even in a quieter week.

The Weekly Debrief

Last week was a little quieter in terms of major events, but still full of activity. There was the very real workout of cleaning gites in 35‑degree heat, speaking for the Institute of Leadership, attending a 10‑week accelerator start‑up awards, picking up a new car, and joining a monthly Business Wales RM meeting. There was also some much‑needed time off, a new dining room set acquired, lunch out, garden weeding, and a steady flow of coaching and mentoring sessions with clients, contacts and associates.

A particular highlight was Thursday’s Inspiriante Business Book Club, where we explored Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. The book offers a vivid picture of what it took to build and grow a business in the 1960s and 1970s. Knight comes across as a driven, often flawed founder: obsessed, laser‑focused, passionate — and at times, almost blinded to everything except the business. It’s a useful reminder that entrepreneurial energy can be both a powerful asset and a potential risk if it goes unchecked.

The Week Ahead

The coming week looks lighter in terms of big external events, which creates space to let the lessons from Shoe Dog settle and translate into day‑to‑day leadership. There are still client meetings and coaching sessions in the diary, but without an overloaded schedule, there is more room to think about what these insights mean in practice.

Questions naturally arise: How much “don’t lose” energy sits behind our decisions, and when does that need to evolve into “make sure you win”? Where is cash flow quietly driving behaviour? Are we hiring people in our own image and then leaving them to manage themselves? How intentional are our niche strategies, and where might they need to be sharpened? A calmer week is ideal for this kind of reflection.

Lessons Learnt

Shoe Dog surfaces a number of enduring truths about building and running a business:

• The shift from “don’t lose” to “make sure you win” as a guiding principle highlights a move from defensive survival to proactive growth.

• The reality that staying afloat often requires uncomfortable lengths, and that cash flow challenges are almost always part of the story.

• The choice to hire people similar to yourself and then let them manage themselves illustrates both the strength and vulnerability of founder‑centric teams.

• The importance of niche positioning, and how a clear focus can ultimately pay off.

Several of Knight’s lines stay with you long after you close the book:

• “Cowards never started and the weak died along the way… that leaves us.”

• “Measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you.”

• “You are remembered by the rules you break.”

  
  

Perhaps most influential, though, is why he travelled. What he read, where he went as a young man, and how he viewed exploring the world all point to a simple idea: he travelled to feed his mind and feed his soul.

For leaders and business owners, that’s a powerful nudge. Even in a week that looks relatively ordinary — a mix of operations, meetings, home life and a book club — what you read, who you talk to and how you reflect can significantly shape how you lead. Feeding your mind isn’t a luxury; it’s part of building a business and life that feel meaningful, purposeful and distinct.

Here’s to making intentional space for learning and reflection, and letting other people’s stories sharpen our own leadership. Just the right dose of #NRG.

What are you reading or listening to right now that’s feeding your mind — and how might it influence the way you show up in your business this week?