Changing The Flow

Chicago felt alive last week. Cool air, marathon runners, the river glinting under the bridges. Between our Q3 leadership sessions and one inspiring quiet sunrise run, I kept thinking about how, over a century ago, this same river was reversed.

Reversing a river is a feat of alignment. It required conviction, shared intent, and what we’d now call extreme accountability.

That story stayed with me throughout our time together. Because in moments like this, when technology shifts the flow beneath us, it’s not the speed that matters most. It’s the direction.

The same reflection shaped our Q3 business review and this Letter from the CEO, which I turned into a hit pop song you can now listen to here. 🎶

In 1900, Chicago’s engineers did something unthinkable: they reversed the Chicago River to stop sewage from flowing into Lake Michigan. The project required moving 44 million cubic yards of earth, redirecting water through a man-made canal, and persuading a city to literally change its flow.
→ Learn more (Smithsonian Magazine)

More than a century later, we’re at another turning point. AI, automation, and creative tools like Suno are reshaping our environment just as radically, but this time, the currents are digital.

Extreme accountability today looks like owning where we direct those flows. Choosing intention over inertia. And making sure the systems we build — human or machine — still move toward meaning.

With 🧭, we move forward. 👇

⚡ Quick Hits

🔁 OpenAI taps Broadcom to build its own AI chips
OpenAI announced a partnership with Broadcom to co-design custom AI processors, aiming for deployment around 2026 to reduce dependence on external suppliers. Learn More

📦 OpenAI launches ChatGPT app store & SDK
At DevDay 2025, OpenAI introduced a built-in app store and a developer SDK so external creators can build chat-native apps. Learn More

🌱 SMEs & AI: Strategic Growth Catalyst
A recent paper argues that AI is no longer just for big firms. 91 % of SMEs using AI report revenue gains, and many cut costs by up to 30 %. Learn More

🌍 Global tech summit in Dubai spotlights AI + quantum
GITEX GLOBAL 2025 kicks off Oct. 13 in Dubai, drawing 6,800 tech firms to showcase advances in AI, quantum computing, robotics, and data infrastructure. Learn More

🛠 Tool

Huxe — think of it as your audio compass for what matters. It listens to your interests (world news, your city, markets, culture), then builds a personalized briefing you can interrupt, refine, or reroute in real time within the context of your email and calendar.

It has very quickly become my go-to audio companion to get a jump start on my day as I go for my daily morning dog walks with Louie.

🪨 The Pebble

What if “changing the flow” in your life didn’t mean more effort, just more intention?

Where could you redirect energy that’s currently just drifting?

📊 Poll

🎥 Media

This week I re-listened to one of my all-time favorite conversations… How to Live in Everyone Else’s Future, featuring Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke on Acquired.fm.

It’s a masterclass in alignment. How to build from first principles, navigate technological shifts, and lead through curiosity instead of control.

Tobi reminds us that real innovation is about living in the future long enough for others to catch up.

✉️ Join the conversation, subscribe at MondayThought.com.

Every Monday, we explore what it means to stay human through change.

[#23] 🥹 Feeling excited and hopeful for peace today! An emotional early morning, hence the delay in this email.

🙏 Hopeful for the beginning of healing, collaboration and the spread of prosperity, peace and a brighter future for everyone.

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