Bookmarks Needed: The Best Business Essays from 2024?

Idea: An anthology of the years best ideas from independent business writers

TL:DR - An Anthology of Great Ideas from 2024

I’d like an anthology of the best business writing from indie writers published in the last year. Printed, old school style to go up on my shelf for the archives. Free, or all profits going to charity.

Something like this:

Why do this: Ideas You Want to Return To

I recently went back and re-read Stewart Butterfield’s great essay "We Don’t Sell Saddles Here". Mainly, I wanted to remember the key points he made, but also to revisit the style, structure and tone of that essay, what we could refer to as the craft (and perhaps art) of Tiny Speck’s internal communications (Before they became Slack). Butterfield is a great writer, but that essay might be forgotten over time.

I've gone back to this essay many, perhaps dozens, of times. It's a keeper, one I'll always want to have access to. It's like "Software is Eating the World”, "Makers Schedule, Managers Schedule” or Paul Ford's article "The Web is a Customer Experience Medium" These are foundational essays which form, over time, a bit of a canon that can be used by creatives, builders, coders and leaders in the future.

What other great writing will pass the test of time, though?

We can't read everything. Every year there are millions of posts and essays that get pushed out into the ether. A lot are SEO chum, but many are written with craft, intention and a desire to add important ideas to the common good. These writers are hoping to make a dent, not just book a keynote talk.

But, it's harder than ever for good ideas to get out into a wider audience, to break through the algorithms. It's less likely we'll find the gold in the noise of AI slop, in the river of shit that gets posted across the web, behind the firewalls or inside private Substack accounts.

I Wish There Was A Collection of the Best Ones

There’s gotta be a way to collect the good stuff from 2024?

I bet we all have thousands of articles bookmarked or saved via Instapaper or Pocket. But, like you most likely, I know if i just bookmark them, I'll never find them again.

I want an anthology of the essays on business, leadership and business culture from the last year. I'd love to have a list of the "keepers", the 15 or 20 articles everyone should have bookmarked. Have it curated, collected and packaged up for me for the future. Ideally in a book that we can hold, touch and share.

I’d pay money for it, and I wonder if others would, too.

Supporting the Independent Writers

I’m interested in supporting the solo writers who are working to get their ideas out into the world. Folks like Arthur Brooks or Ezra Klein are at their peak powers currently, but they have the support of major publishing companies behind them. There are so many talented folks with truly important ideas that might get lost or forgotten. How can we surface some of their best ideas?

For Charity

I believe ideas should be free. So, this project should be no or very low cost, and any profits should go to some charity. Something like The Brand Lab, 826 National, or Build.org. Will need to figure that out.

Criteria: The Ones You’ll Revisit

But what makes it into the anthology? “Best” is tricky and I fear there’s a natural recoil when declaring some writing “better” than others. “Favorite” might be too subjective.

The point is to identify the work that is worth keeping, sharing and coming back to over the years ahead. In an idea marketplace driven by hustle culture, cred farming, SEO juice and self-promotion, what stands the test of time?

Articles like Peter Drucker’s “Managing Oneself” are classics and have become touchstones. But, a recent post from Packy McCormick (“Burn the Playbooks”) could serve as an exemplar:

• Timeless… - It’s an argument or an idea will make sense, for the most part, at any point in the near future: Invest in yourself, follow your own curiosity, create your own path, etc.

• But Shaped by the Times - Drucker was speaking specifically to the work and leadership in the “Knowledge Economy”. He recognized the culture and times he was writing in. Packy’s essay is a clear argument for thriving in the earliest days of the AI revolution. Ten years from now, this one may serve as a reminder of the choices leaders had as they adapted to the AI era.

• For the Reader - The best essays are clearly written to and for the reader, not an “audience”. Neither Drucker or Packy are writing these things for sole purpose of self-promotion. They are writing to the audience, with the audience’s best interests in mind. These aren’t Linkedin posts where the point is cred-building.

• Persuasion - The goal for Packy’s essay is to persuade readers to think and act differently. It’s not a “how to” or a “Lesson” or case study. His essay is designed to change your mind, to get you to reflect and then commit. It’s hard to read that piece and not buy into his argument.

• Stylistically Interesting - The writing in Packy’s essay is distinct and unique. His voice is clear and motivating and, pardon the pun, not boring.

• Gets Better Upon Re-Reading - Great essays have depth, nuance and color. They not only bear re-reading, but they become more meaningful (or useful) with each reading.

What Would You Share?

As I look at my own bookmarks and saved articles, I’m realizing I have some stuff that’s useful, but fewer “keepers” than I thought I’d have. It’s making me realize there’s a ton of great stuff out there that I bet I’d love to read (if I knew about it).

But, for the purposes of getting the ball rolling, here’s a starting selection from me. Some of the “best” essay’s I read this year (so far).

• Packy’s Essay - Burn the Playbooks

• Rishad’s essay on getting ready for the next era (Future Proofing Careers)

• Roger Martin’s The Best Place to Start - This focus on the practical realities of over-valuing the actions that flow from “strategy” is very helpful to someone like me who can get overly focused on the ideas and words. executing and working as a way

• Katherine Dee’s “No, Culture is Not Stuck” - pushing our thinking about what “culture” means as the media, forms, and aesthetics evolve in a digitally accelerated world.

If you had to go back over the last 11 months and print out one or two things to keep for the future, what would you pick? Would it be “Founder Mode”? Sam Altman’s “AI Age”?

Either comment or send me an email. Or, you can use this form, too. I’ll share out the ideas in a near-future edition of this newsletter.

Also, i’m going to be reaching out to a number of folks to see if there’s some value in this idea and, if it makes sense, I may just do this project. You know, to “scratch my own itch” or something like that.