We’ve all been there.

It’s the end of a day, a week, a month.

Your calendar was packed. You’re burnt on both ends.

Busy doesn’t begin to describe it.

And yet, you’re haunted by a sickening feeling + one question.

For leaders, executives, and especially CEOs … productivity isn’t just elusive. It can be outright crushing.

Good news. Today that ends.

🏆 Matt Bertulli shares his productivity framework for founders

📊 Connor MacDonald on the one metric he (CMO) cares about

🤑 Cody Plofker helps you “print” more post-purchase profit

🗞️ Top five headlines from this week in consumer, DTC news

Also, don’t read to the end of this email. There’s nothing interesting there.

Connor MacDonald Ridge, CMO

How to 3x Your List for Black Friday

I don’t spend my days tweaking popups and testing CTAs. Our team crushes that.

What I do care about is the one metric that makes every campaign better …

Before Black Friday, Ridge focuses on one thing: stacking subscribers the smart way. Not random traffic, but high-intent shoppers who actually buy.

That’s why we run our annual sweepstakes in Aug. It’s live if you want to check it out. Usually, we use cash-back offers.

But for now, our popup is gamified like the campaign itself.

That’s also why I’m teaming up with Postscript for its List Size Matters Session along with Beekman 1802 and the sak.

We’ll break down the exact tactics we use:

• Seasonal offers
• Always-on acquisition flows
• Cash back vs discounts
• Gamification
• Quiz personalization

And the Onsite Opt-In Network.

Different offers. Different strategies.

Same goal.

The session is less than an hour. You’ll leave with a plan to crank your SMS channel before the holidays.

↑ I’ll see you there!

Matt Bertulli CEO, Pela Case & Lomi

Productivity Framework for Leaders: How to Get Things Done as a CEO-Founder

We need to talk about productivity.

Not general productivity. You know, the tactics that have been around for decades.

Instead, let’s dig into what it means to be a productive executive — a productive founder, a productive CEO.

It’s a framework I’ve developed myself. I like simple things I can remember. So I remember them as the …

Four Ds of productive leadership:

• Deliberate
• Decide
• Delegate
• Determine

About two years into building my first company, I felt like I could do no wrong. I’d jump from coding a feature for a client to getting on a sales call to running the daily standup with my team.

I did it all, and it felt f****** awesome.

My team had grown to ~33 people.

Many of them were far better than I was. Better at coding. Better salespeople. Better project managers.

I was finally a CEO. A real one.

And I had no idea what my job was anymore. I was officially the dumbest person in the room at any one tactical job.

This really bothered me.

I no longer felt like I did anything productive. I’d get home after work, wondering why I even showed up.

As I talked to mentors and coaches, I realized I never learned how to transition from founder to CEO. From individual contributor to chief vision officer.

Among the things I didn’t learn was how to redefine productivity as a leader versus a contributor.

Given I’ve been a founder-CEO for 18+ years, I’m going to share with you my very simple framework for how I am working on becoming (and feeling) more productive.

You probably know what this feels like, too. You get to the end of a week, it goes something like this …

I can see the calendar was full. I know I did things. But it just feels like I accomplished very little.

This is a real downside to being a founder-turned-executive. Or anyone who’s worked their way up the ladder.

If this sounds like you, don’t worry.

Beyond a certain stage, CEOs shouldn’t really produce a ton of work output. We don’t code, write, design, spreadsheet, or project manage full-time.

And we shouldn’t.

We mostly work through our teams. Whether that’s one person or 100, your job is to set the vision, build the team, and make adjustments along the way to the desired outcomes.

People are the highest point of leverage in most companies. We’ve built an incredible team in our business. It’s best I let them lead their areas and instead shift my focus to being the best possible CEO for them.

Remember, being a CEO mostly means you are in service to your team. I believe this means that most founders need to totally reframe what it means to be productive as they progress from a player to a coach … to a GM.

Since I’ve been doing this job for a while, I’ve got a personal framework for this, which I’m going to teach you today.

I hold to this framework very strictly. I encourage you to do the same, or if it doesn’t work, come up with your own that you can always refer back to.

There are four components to this super-simple framework.

When I find myself wanting to “just do the work myself,” here’s what I do instead …

1️⃣  Deliberate  The Chess Game

This is where the magic of strategic thinking kicks off.

It is the foundation to running a great company.

This step is not about diving headfirst into every task that lands on your desk. Instead, it’s like being a chess grandmaster in a world of checkers players.

You need to ponder your moves, weigh the options, and anticipate the outcomes.

In other words, ask the right questions:

• What's the long-term impact?
• How does it align with our vision?
• Is this the hill I want to die on?
• Should I save my energy?

Consider Apple’s decision to remove the headphone jack from iPhones. At the time, it was controversial.

Was it deliberated with a vision for a wireless future in mind? Or a greedy cash grab to sell you more s***?

Either way, such decisions might not be universally popular initially, but they must be in line with a long-term strategy.

This is a painful one for me.

I bias towards action. Just get it done. Speed.

But that bias often has me stepping on toes or worse, disempowering my team in their respective areas of genius.

My job is to ask the best possible questions to help them get to the outcomes we’ve agreed to.

When you ask great questions, you come to the right agreements. Clear agreements are where everything starts. You work with your team and agree to achieve something.

Let me be clear on one point though …

Think about the legendary chess matches where grandmasters can both spend hours on a single move, and also make super-fast moves when needed.

Each decision is made with a deep understanding of the consequences, several moves ahead. Similarly, your every decision should be a calculated step towards your company’s long-term objectives.

Speed doesn’t mean you didn’t think.

Just don’t skip the thinking.

2️⃣  Decide  Let’s Cook, Chef

This is the bread and butter of a CEO.

Every day is a series of decisions, some small and mundane, others monumental. Imagine it like a chef in a bustling kitchen; every ingredient and every slice is a decision that contributes to the final dish.

Decisions are your daily diet. You’ve got to be good at making them quickly + effectively.

It’s about honing that instinct to cut through the clutter and get to the crux of the matter. Like a seasoned tennis player who knows when to go for a power shot or a gentle volley, your business acumen needs to balance agility and thoughtfulness.

However, you have to remember that saying “yes” or “no” is not the point.

Akin to that old trope — teaching someone to fish rather than giving them a fish. You’re developing leaders within your team, equipping them with the skills to weigh options and make informed choices.

I love those TV shows and movies where you hear the “Yes, chef!” response yelled back in response to directives. We aren’t line cooks, frantically prepping. We’re executive chefs. We run the kitchen; we don’t produce the meals ourselves.

Your job is to make decisions that navigate your company towards its goals. Not just avoiding risks; charting a course that aligns with your vision and values.

It’s about cutting through the noise and focusing on what truly matters. And yes, sometimes it means making the hard choice because that's what leaders do …

Unpopular decisions for the greater good.

It’s like a surgeon deciding in the moment which procedure will save a life. Your decisions can have a profound impact on the health and direction of your company.

You want an organization that can function entirely independent of you. That nirvana of a state mostly comes from building great decision-making muscle in the business.

The key? A culture where everyone feels confident and capable to take the helm when needed.

This is exemplified in companies where the absence of the CEO doesn’t paralyze operations because each team member is empowered to make decisions.

The simpler something is, the easier it becomes for others to become the decision point around it.

Complexity often leads to confusion and inefficiency — the corporate equivalent of indigestion. Complexity gives us the illusion of control. It’s a lie.

Simplicity, on the other hand, is like a clear, well-lit road that everyone can follow. It streamlines decision-making, making it easier for your team to take charge and drive forward.

3️⃣  Delegate  Don’t Be the Hero

Think of delegation as your own invisibility cloak. It magically scales your business while keeping your sanity intact.

It’s understanding that you don’t need to be the superhero in every episode of your company’s saga.

Here, even the most seasoned founders and CEOs fall down. Including myself.

We jump in. We do something. We’re action-takers.

Instead, empower your team to take action.

It’s like finding the Avengers for your business — each a genius in their field. Your responsibility? To bring them together and let them save the world … or at least, your sales targets.

Why take the risk of building a business if you can’t win the ultimate prize? You know what that is, right?

Time.

If you’re busy and feel like you aren’t getting much done, this is probably the place you’re falling down.

First, it’s good to remember that delegating is more than offloading tasks; it’s rooted in trust. It’s handing over the keys to your car and saying, “I believe you won't drive us into a lake.”

This frees you up to focus on the big picture. The vision, strategy, and where to have lunch (obviously).

Second, that trust only exists after you step back and watch them rip — not before.

Imagine sitting back with popcorn to watch your team orchestrate business magic. It’s like your favorite Netflix series … but you’re getting paid.

You’re letting go of control. You’re terrified, but it’s exhilarating. And yes, I still get heebie-jeebies now and then.

The bigger your company gets, the more you need to get comfortable with delegation. When you upgrade from a scooter to a spaceship, you can’t possibly fly that thing alone. You need a crew, a co-pilot, and maybe an alien or two.

This is the entire reason for my 80:100 rule … 80% done by someone else is 100% awesome.

It’s like getting a B- on a group project and still celebrating because hey, you didn’t even go to class!

I had to brainwash myself into accepting this years ago.

Master the art of stepping back and trusting your team to step up. You’ll be happier, and your business will perform.

The only real failures are mistakes we didn’t learn from.

Don’t tolerate failure.

4️⃣  Determine  Still Cooking!

This is where you measure, assess, and recalibrate.

Honestly, this is the place you want to live the most. Help your team see the field, help them think through their next moves.

As the chef (we’re back to cooking again), you want to be zooming out and seeing if you should be changing things.

Are we moving closer to our goals? What’s working and what’s not? Knowing what we know now, how should we adjust?

This step is crucial because it closes the feedback loop.

But it’s also about intuition.

Sometimes the numbers don’t tell the whole story. As a CEO (or any real leader of any type), you’ve got to read between the lines — continuously learning, adapting, and fine-tuning.

This is “seeing the field of play.”

Great athletes have developed this skill.

It is one of my superpowers. I can see through a lot of data, think through all the scenarios, and make faster decisions because I’ve developed this muscle over many years.

Your weekly scorecards, KPIs, whatever you want to call them, live here in this step.

They help you determine if the current activities in the business are producing the expected results.

What gets measured gets done. And gets improved. Getting things done is sort of at the root of productivity.

There you have it.

A simple framework for CEO, executives, and leaders to be and feel more productive.

• Deliberate
• Decide
• Delegate
• Determine

Take it. Use it. Make it yours.

Cody Plofker CEO, Jones Road Beauty

Skip CAC, Monetize What You Already Own

Our post-purchase experience is already pretty dialed.

But with margins getting tighter, we needed to find new profit without touching CAC or hurting CX.

That’s when we turned on Rokt Thanks with Aftersell.

Seamless, personalized offers after checkout from blue-chip brands, when shoppers are still in buying mode.

After running a 100+ day holdout test …

It’s not just incremental. It’s clean. It’s additive. It’s built for brands that care about CX just as much as conversion.

Took us five minutes. And it prints profit.

Highly recommend.

THE FEED

​The Real Cost of Chasing Growth: Q&A​

​DTC OG Ezra Firestone on How the Game Has Shifted and What’s Working Now​

The Trends

Curated by the editor of CPG Wire, this week’s five biggest consumer-news headlines.

1. AG1 Expands Into Sleep Supplements: Kat Cole

AG1 just launched AGZ, a nighttime drink to support restorative sleep and its first new product line in 15 years.

The melatonin-free product is formulated with clinically-studied adaptogens, herbs, and minerals. AG1 managed to do $600 million in sales with one SKU in 2024, and now the company is going after another massive category in sleep.

Please show Kat Cole, AG1’s CEO, some love on the launch over at Twitter (X) or LinkedIn.

2. Mooski Secures Funding: NOSH

Mooski Snacks, a fast-growing purveyor of refrigerated oat bars, raised $1.5M in fresh equity funding. The round was led by an anonymous angel investor with considerable experience in the protein bar category. RXBAR alum Robert Broome launched Mooski Snacks in early 2022. The brand retails at Fresh Thyme, Woodman’s, Foxtrot, and a number of other chains.

3. Liquid I.V. Teases RTD Line: CPG Wire​

Liquid I.V., the hydration brand that Unilever acquired in 2020, just teased a canned beverage line. Based on the accompanying marketing campaign — “Crush Today, Crash Tomorrow” — it’s an energy plus hydration solution.

Liquid I.V. already does close to $1B in annual sales, and now the brand is chasing growth with RTDs.

4. McCormick Increases Stake in Mexico JV: Food Dive

McCormick, the owner of Cholula, French’s, and Frank’s Red Hot, just shelled out $750M to acquire an additional 25% stake in McCormick de Mexico, its joint venture with Grupo Herdez.

The JV was established in 1947 and does north of $800M in annual sales. McCormick now owns 75% of the JV, with its market cap approaching $20B.

5. DITTO Raises Pre-Seed Funding: Femtech Insider

UK-based menstrual supplements brand DITTO secured £1.35M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Eka Ventures and included participation from a number of strategic angel investors.

Founded in 2024 by nutrition scientist Alice van der Schoot, DITTO sells a variety of supplements that combat the mental and physical symptoms of the menstrual cycle.

 Did you make it this far? 

Good. Because I lied. There is something here.

We’ve all but finalized our Operators Online Event: Black Friday Prep (Sep 12).

Over 25 speakers. 3 keynotes. Separate trainings for leaders, marketers & finance. 10 lightning panelists.

Plus, a closer who’ll bring you to tears.

But we kept one spot in the lightning panel open for you!

• 5 minutes
• No slides, all action
• One Black Friday strategy

As always, Operators only.

With thanks and anticipation,
Aaron Orendorff 🤓 Executive Editor

Disclaimer: Special thanks to Postscript + Aftersell by Rokt for sponsoring the newsletter.

PS … here’s a glamour shot of the 25+ ecommerce leaders that’ll be guiding you at the Black Friday online event.

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