Bite-sized insights for curious leaders & learners every other Sunday.

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🗣️ "Let it offend you that someone else could be handed your days and turn them into something greater.” -Seneca

🗣️ “A man who dares to waste an hour of time has not discovered the value of his life." -Charles Darwin

🗣️ "In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines our success or failure." -Malcolm X

🗣️ "You can do so much in ten minutes' time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into ten-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity." -Ingvar Kamprad

​The Best Nonfiction Books Coming Out Before EOY 2026​ Sept-Nov 2026 will be a big season for NF, including new books from Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, & Michael Lewis ​Read more​

​Wise Words from Wise People (August 2026)​ Here are the best quotes I found last month. I think you'll enjoy them. ​Read more​

​Bossypants by Tina Fey​ ​Nonfiction: Memoir, Comedy If you're a fan of Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, or comedy in general, you'll enjoy this hilarious memoir from genius writer and producer Tina Fey. I'm usually a physical books guy, but it's hard to beat the audiobook because Fey reads it herself.

​Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan​ ​Fiction: Literature, Drama, Family Set in a small Irish town, this tiny novel asks the question: Should you try to help a stranger even if doing so puts your family at risk? I had seen this book everywhere, and now I know why.

🗣️ “Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture.” -Howard Schultz

One of the most important things you’ll ever do as a leader is hire people.

The people you choose will predetermine your team's culture, productivity, job satisfaction, client health, and long-term profitability.

But most leaders make one big mistake when interviewing people for their team...

They focus WAY too much on the resume and not enough on the human.

Don't forget: You're hiring a person, not a resume. That means:

• Potential > Experience
• Passion > Pedigree
• Industrious > Ivy League

In other words, the working parent who put themselves through community college at night is often a better pick than the Stanford grad—at least if the job requires grit and work ethic.

Another example: the less-tenured candidate who truly wants to be at your company (not just any company) may be a better choice than the highly experienced candidate who forgot your company's name in the interview.

Pick the best human, not the fanciest cardstock.

​Dive deeper: 16 Tips to Hire Great People​

Right now, I'm doing one of my favorite things: traveling!

My wife and I are in Central Europe. So far we've visited Budapest and Bratislava. Today we're heading to Vienna, then off to our final stop (Prague) in a few days.

Budapest was incredible. It's full of rich history, friendly people, and amazing architecture.

My favorite activity was visiting the Széchenyi Thermal Baths, which are essentially a natural hot springs. I even got to play some chess with a Belgian engineering student while I was there. I don't have a pic of the chess, but you'll find my favorite pic of the baths below.

Keep learning,

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Visit me at BobbyPowers.com for more articles and book reviews about leadership, communication, and personal development.

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