Finding chanterelles brought me to my uncle's café in rural New Jersey—those pots of soup we made after foraging across the Pennsylvania river.

Tonight: Escoffier-style chanterelle velouté. Seared tenderloin, whipped potatoes, roasted squash.

I cook to create and to remember.

We opened our home to friends these past weekends—college friends, old friends, new connections.

Hospitality isn’t just food or celebration. It’s showing up: a meal, a text, listening.

Be happy in triumph. Cheer in struggle. That shared humanity makes life beautiful.

Worth the read: amzn.to/464705Z

Just finished Material World by Ed Conway - six “basic” materials (salt, sand, iron, copper, oil, lithium) that quietly run our world. Eye-opening reminder that the future of energy, tech & trade rests on foundations we rarely consider. Highly recommend.

Keurig Dr Pepper drops $18B on JDE Peet's then immediately plans to split the company in two. Most "shuffle the deck" stories fail because they confuse activity with progress
Analysis: thepointtaken.substack.com/p/kdps-corpo...

When a logo becomes lightning: Cracker Barrel’s rebrand drew outrage. Context: the category is bleeding (Fridays + Red Lobster filed Ch. 11). The work isn’t pixels—it’s P&L. How leaders separate signal from noise ↓
thepointtaken.substack.com/p/pixels-vs-...

#Leadership #CrackerBarrel

New at The Point Taken: Porsche SE’s defense pivot is risk engineering, not rebranding. I translate it into a boardroom playbook + front-line actions (supplier options, policy-agnostic offers, reliability gains).

Read: thepointtaken.substack.com/p/porsche-de...

— Bryan J. Kaus | 23.5 Strategies

Three “unexpected” CEO hires this month prove a point:
Boards win when they hire for the constraint, not the résumé. From @harleydavidson to JLR to telehealth—unconventional works.

Here’s why → thepointtaken.substack.com/p/the-outsid...

#Leadership #CEOSuccession #talent #management

Just finished Ron Chernow's Mark Twain biography - wow! 📚Twain embodies the imperfect American story and humanity's capacity for growth. Had flaws and prejudices but showed we can evolve and leave indelible marks despite imperfections. Worth the read: amzn.to/4lb89y3

AI is accelerating—but are we building it wisely?

In my latest Substack, I break down 4 overlooked risks that could hollow out our workforce and judgment for a generation.

This isn’t hype. It’s strategy—and it matters now more than ever.

thepointtaken.substack.com/p/were-build...

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

The more I grow, the more I realize: real leadership starts within.

Not with fixing others. But by transforming ourselves.

What shift are you ready to make?