Confidential

🚀 How Public Schools Are Quietly Transforming Career Readiness — And Why Bridge-it Is at the Center of It I’m thrilled to share that Bridge-it has been featured in USA Today for the impact we’re making in public schools and CTE programs. For years, schools have struggled to connect classroom learning to real-world opportunities. Students were earning skills — but lacked the visibility, credibility, and pathways needed to turn those skills into meaningful careers. This new USA Today feature spotlights how Bridge-it is becoming a “secret weapon” for schools by giving students a verified skills passport, enabling seamless connections with employers, and helping districts truly measure the outcomes that matter. We’re honored to support districts that are innovating, evolving, and putting students at the center of the future workforce. 💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts: What’s the biggest challenge facing schools as they prepare students for high-demand careers? Comment below! 👇 #EducationInnovation #CTE #FutureOfWorkforce #EdTech #CareerReadiness #Bridgeit 📖 Read the full USA Today feature here: https://lnkd.in/gdjpvDQh

Experience is brutal. It gives you the test first. Then the lesson. You launch and fail. Then you learn why. You post and get ignored. Then you learn what works. You build and hear crickets. Then you learn what people actually want. There's no shortcut around this. Nothing replaces experience. No mentor can do it for you. No amount of planning prevents it. You have to DO it. You have to LIVE it. I failed for years before I figured out what worked. Lost money on bad ideas. Built things nobody wanted. Wasted time on the wrong strategies. But every failure taught me something I couldn't learn any other way. That's how you get good. Not by avoiding mistakes. By making them faster and learning from them. The test comes first. The lesson comes after. That's the deal.

Once someone gives notice, it’s already too late. They’ve mentally checked out long before they handed in that resignation. People don’t quit jobs - they quit poor leadership, toxic culture, and places where growth has stalled. Someone recently reached out to me on LI to say: “I just resigned from my job last week because the owner is just destroying the very thing he is trying to accomplish. He doesn't care about anyone but himself and blames everyone for all the company problems. .” That’s real at a lot of workplaces...and it sucks. You see, retention isn’t about scrambling to fill empty seats. It’s about getting curious: Why are people leaving in the first place? Here are the top reasons employees walk away: 1. They feel invisible. – When was the last time you truly acknowledged their efforts? 2. Growth has stalled. – No path forward? They’ll create one - somewhere else. 3. Feedback is broken. – Micromanaging isn't feedback. Neither is silence. 4. Culture feels toxic. – Gossip, burnout, and favoritism kill engagement fast. 5. Pay doesn’t reflect value. – People do notice when their efforts outweigh their paycheck. 6. Leaders don’t inspire. – Leadership isn’t about control. It’s about empowerment. 7. Work-life balance is a myth. – When “flexibility” means always being on call, people leave. And here’s what many organizations get wrong: → Exit interviews are too late. By then, the damage is done. → Perks don’t replace purpose. Free snacks won’t fix poor management or lack of appreciation. → Turnover is costly. It’s not just about money - it’s the loss of morale, momentum, and institutional knowledge. If you’re serious about retention, start by listening to the people still in the room. Be the reason they stay, not the reason they leave. What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear it. ♻️ Repost if this struck a chord.

Comfort protects your ego. Growth protects your future. Stop apologising for wanting more. We were raised on outdated rules: “Stay loyal.” “Be patient.” “Wait your turn.” But that thinking belongs to another era. Staying just for loyalty quietly costs you: - Growth you’ll never get back - Skills that go stale - Confidence that fades one year at a time You’re not disloyal for moving on. You’re courageous for refusing to shrink. Here’s what the best professionals know 👇 1. Treat your career like a portfolio, not a prison Every role adds value.  No single job defines your path. 2. Choose growth over comfort Comfort feels safe -  until it starts costing you momentum. 3. Follow opportunity, not approval Stop waiting for permission  Start stepping into your next chapter. 4. Reinvent before routine traps you New skills.  New rooms. New level. 5. Don’t shrink to stay “grateful” Gratitude should lift your path - not limit your progress. 6. Find rooms that expand, not contain you Some places push you forward. Others keep you boxed in. 7. See evolution as duty, not betrayal You’re not erasing your story. Just writing the next bold chapter. 8. Move before you feel ready Growth doesn’t wait for timing. It rewards courage. Stop trying to fit What no longer fits you. You’ve outgrown the version that stayed quiet. Move. Stretch. Build what’s next. Growth isn’t betrayal. It’s self-respect in action.

I once had a job I dreaded going to—so much that I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a knot in my stomach. Not because of the work. I loved the work. It was the handful of toxic co-workers and the adversarial culture that drained me. The side comments. The lack of trust. The “we’re all adults, figure it out” leadership philosophy. I remember thinking: We’re on the same team. Why does it feel like we’re at war? And lately, I’m seeing a disturbing trend: as job losses mount, many leaders are quietly backtracking on the promises they’ve made—flexibility, trust, inclusion, psychological safety. Some CEOs are even saying 60-hour workweeks should be the norm again. We are going backwards. And employees feel it. Hard. Here’s the truth I’ve learned coaching leaders: People don’t quit jobs they enjoy. They quit cultures that make them lose sleep. The cultures that win today, and will win tomorrow, are the ones where people can breathe. Where they can go to bed without anxiety. Where they show up because they want to, not because they’re afraid not to. Where leaders understand that humans are not machines; they’re meaning-seekers. A healthy culture doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built by leaders who: ✨ Make trust the default, not the reward. ✨ Create environments where people feel safe speaking up. ✨ Value rest as much as results. ✨ Protect their people from toxicity: no matter how “high-performing” the culprit claims to be. ✨ Understand that belonging is not a perk; it’s a performance driver. When people feel valued, they don’t just work harder, they work with heart. They innovate. They collaborate. They stay. If you want your company to be a place where people are excited to come to work, start by asking one simple question: Would you want to work in the culture you’re creating? Because the companies that win aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones where people can sleep at night. If your company needs training creating a culture of trust, belonging, and performance, I’d love to support you.

Are you Snart or Humble?? Let me know in the comment.

I've spent the last decade obsessing over productivity. To be honest, most of the advice out there is hustle-bro BS. Hour long morning routines. Mainlining caffeine and nicotine. Tracking your sleep with three different devices. In reality, it mostly just boils down to this: Do the hard things as early in the day as possible. A bit of an oversimplification, yes, but this is really what started moving the needle for me both in my personal and professional life. Note: This doesn't just apply to entrepreneurs. The same principle works if you’re climbing the ladder at a 9–5, running a side project, or just trying to build momentum outside of work. A few ways to make sure this happens: 1. Wake up an hour earlier Yep, sometimes it’s that simple. You don't need to become a 4am psycho, but an extra hour before the chaos of the day sets in goes a long way. 2. Don't start your day with "busywork" We want to avoid “rocking horse syndrome” at all costs. Filling your time with admin, organizing files, and clearing notifications might feel productive, but it's just motion without progress. 3. Decide on your "hard thing" the night before Don't waste your peak morning energy choosing what to work on. Spend 5 minutes tonight identifying tomorrow's most important task, so you can hit the ground running. 4. Kill distractions until you’re done Phone out of reach. Notifications off. Most people don’t lack time, they just lack the focus to actually use their time effectively. That’s it. No 5am cold plunges. No biohacking supplements. Just do the hard things first. Make a habit of winning early, and you’ll never end a day feeling behind.