Design Your Next Breakthrough
Every leader knows the rush of inspiration: the all-nighter, the surge, the just one more thing moment. Last week, I shared one of mine: the 48-hour build that became the first version of my Beyond Incremental website. But breakthroughs don’t come from bursts of energy alone. They come from creating systems that make that energy repeatable. This week, I put my […]
November 8, 2025·Andrea Michalek
Breakthrough Work Feels Different
My daughter got it right: "Wow, that was quick." I'd just told her I built the first version of my website in 48 hours. What I didn't mention initially was that I barely slept during those two days. Which led to the obvious question: Why do we do that? This Is What Breakthrough Leadership Actually Feels […]
November 1, 2025·Andrea Michalek
The framework I've been building with you (revealed)
Beyond Incremental: The Journey Revealed A Behind-the-Scenes Look at 12 Weeks of Writing in Public For the past 12 weeks, you’ve been receiving newsletters about leadership breakthroughs, scaling yourself, and creating category-defining impact. Last week, I mentioned I was writing a book. Today, I want to show you what we’ve built together. Every newsletter has […]
August 23, 2025·Andrea Michalek
Faster, cheaper, prettier… and still irrelevant
You don’t win by building a better product than the competition. You win by creating a space where competition doesn’t exist. That’s category creation: not improving what's already there, but building the market around a problem only you can solve. Most product leaders aren’t doing this.They’re professional optimizers. Making things faster, cheaper, prettier… and call […]
August 16, 2025·Andrea Michalek
My Waterfall Moment: A Story of Strength and Rediscovery
Do you have a photo that takes you back to the exact moment your life shifted? The kind of moment that showed you strength you didn’t know you had? For me, it is a picture of a waterfall. I keep this photo on the wall above my desk, and to most, it probably just looks […]
January 18, 2025·Andrea Michalek
Is your Product Lovable Enough?
Are you striving to create products that truly resonate with your users? What happens when you decide to build a product not for market validation, but to share something that brings you joy? That’s exactly what happened to me when I was sick with a cold. I was just sick enough to not want to […]
November 18, 2024·Andrea Michalek
The Role of Leadership in Building a Culture of Innovation
After decades of leading product and tech teams, I’ve learned that great teams don't innovate by accident or rely on one-hit wonders. They create environments where ideas consistently thrive. Great leaders also understand their people as whole humans, not just employees. Here's how to master both. Building a culture of innovation Innovation doesn't just happen; […]
March 4, 2024·Andrea Michalek