My name is Barrett Brooks. I live in Portland, OR. I’m an experienced startup operator. After growing ConvertKit to $28M in ARR over five years, I retired from my role as COO in August 2021. I spent the rest of 2021 decompressing, getting my energy back, and serving as volunteer managing editor on The Carbon […]
The End of the Year is a Time for Rest, Recovery, and Reflection
If you spend any amount of time reading career advice, following founders of companies you admire, or scrolling Twitter, you’ll inevitably run into some version of: l f***ing love the end of the year. All of the lazy people take the last week of the year off. Meanwhile, here I am in the office for […]
Stuck in your career? Here’s what to do next
I’ll never forget how it feels to be stuck. Let’s go back in time to my first startup job. I’m sitting at the counter at Harlow, my favorite healthy breakfast spot here in Portland. As I wait on my food, I take off my rain suit to let it dry until I have to get […]
Generalist vs Specialist: There’s No Right Answer for Your Career
When it comes to growing your career, there’s long been a thriving debate over the merits of building generalist vs specialist skill sets. Spoiler: there is no right answer. In reality, whether to build a generalist or specialist skill set (and therefore career path) relates much more to two things: What do you enjoy? What […]
Talent-Company Fit is the Career Equivalent to Product-Market Fit
What do the people with the most fulfilling career trajectories have in common? The most obvious trend: top performers act like owners. Performance leads to leverage. Leverage creates career opportunity. It’s common advice. In order to make the biggest impact on your company, treat it like it’s your own. See a problem? Solve it. Have […]
Retreat
Work often. Work hard. Do work that matters. But also create balance. Invest in family. Take retreats. Retreats are one of the most powerful ways I know to build relationships, take stock on life, and come back to work with new vigor and intention. A person who isn’t willing to take time for down time […]
The Growth Zone
In your comfort zone, you know exactly what to expect. It’s safe, it’s routine. It’s where you are when you’re doing that thing for the 10,000th time. It’s where you go to flow. In your danger zone, you have no idea what to expect. You’re on high alert, unable to focus on anything but making […]
Perception is Everything
You mean one thing. You say one thing. Your words are interpreted through personal filters. You control only two of these. Make sure you tailor the message to the audience.
Say What You Mean
At the end of a post on choosing family, I thought about adding a “PS: I know everyone’s definition of family is different. Maybe your family treats your horribly. Maybe you can’t have kids. Maybe your friends are your famiy. This post stands in all of those scenarios.” But here’s the thing: for the right […]
Let’s Talk About Race
In 2012, an initiative called T-SPLOST was turned down by the Metro Atlanta electorate. Something like 70% of voters turned down the measure, which was a proposed sales tax to fund $8 billion for new roads, transit, and local transportation in the metro Atlanta region. Anyone who has spent time in Atlanta knows that it […]