Hey, it's Jason.
At some point our paths crossed: conference, clinic, conversation, LinkedIn post, or you signed up somewhere (and totally forgot).
However it happened, here we are.
I'm an orthopedic surgeon (not a self help guru, life coach, military calisthenics master, or billionaire consultant). I make my living helping people fix themselves. Bones, joints, tendons, ligaments; they wear out, fracture, rupture and dislocate. I live and work in the world where the body meets physics at the wrong angle and where time and pressure take their toll.
I've learned that everything that happens inside an operating room (except maybe the music and sexy caps) applies directly to what happens outside. Communication under pressure. Delaying decisions. Teams struggling. Systems fracturing and wearing out. Precision execution that feels like choreography. Doing everything right and still having a suboptimal outcome. That isn't just medicine. It's how high-stakes leadership works (or doesn’t).
So I'm writing about it.
Every week you'll get four things.
The Story - from inside medicine. The OR, the ICU, a 2 AM phone call. With a real lesson attached. Not a metaphor. Things that actually happen.
The Rule - I’ve been collecting them for years. Named principles that came out of specific moments in my career. They're going in a book eventually. You'll get them first.
The Question - A question to take into your week. Specific enough to have an actual answer.
The Reading - Something worth reading. Research, articles, ideas from other fields that connect and why they're worth your time.
That's it. No fluff. No "crushing it" content. No sponsored posts about productivity software. No push up challenge. Just value to help you Will the Good in your field.
If that sounds useful, come on along. If it doesn't, unsubscribe below and I won't hold it against you. Genuinely.
One last thing. I'm just getting this started, which means the tech may not cooperate. If you have 10 seconds, reply to this email with the word "Leading." It tells me this landed where it was supposed to, and it's the most on-brand reply I could think of.
Talk soon.
— Jason
P.S. I'm a surgeon, not a writer. Typos are a known risk. I'll try to keep the mortality rate low.