Vol. 4, Issue 8: The Real Work Starts When The Cameras Stop
A fictional commencement speech with real world application
I wasn’t asked to give a commencement speech. I wrote one anyway.
Good afternoon graduates, faculty, families, friends and to the guy in the back who’s so hungover that he can barely hold it together and is almost certainly wearing shorts and a t-shirt under that gown, thank you for being here.
Today’s a big day. You’re stepping out of classrooms and group chats and into the real world - whatever the hell that means. It’s a world with fewer course notifications and more Slack notifications. Fewer office hours, more meeting hours. More spreadsheets, fewer naps. But before we get started here, I’m gonna tell you something right out of the gate: the real world isn’t a place where you magically become an adult the moment you walk across that stage and take your diploma from a guy in a slightly fancier robe than the one you’re wearing. It’s just a different kind of classroom. The lessons are definitely messier, much louder, and way less predictable, but it’s full of opportunity to learn.
I run a business that helps companies grow. That’s the sanitized version. What we actually do is help organizations figure out why their sales strategies are stuck, why their teams aren’t scaling, and why they keep hiring people who leave within 18 months. And I’ve learned a few things while I’ve been doing it. This is what I want to leave you with today:
Success isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things, at the right time, with the right people.
What does that mean practically?
1. Doing More Is Not the Same as Scaling
In the world you're about to enter - especially the tech, media, or advertising worlds - there’s this illusion that moving fast equals success. We glorify speed. “Fail fast.” “Move fast and break things.” “Scale or die.” But there’s a dirty secret there: speed without direction is just chaos in fancy clothing.
Companies don’t grow because they add more tools, more people, more pitch decks. They grow when they understand who they are, who they serve, and how they show up consistently. That’s scale. Scale isn’t just big—it’s repeatable, it lasts and it’s rooted in something real.
Don’t fall into the trap of equating moving forward with advancing.
2. Authenticity > Hype, All Day Long
You’re graduating into an era that’s fueled on attention. Everyone wants to be viral. My 15-year old daughter poses for Instagram photos like she’s being photographed by Annie Leibovitz (ask your parents who that is). Everyone’s curating their social persona like they’re the big get at Met Gala. And let’s be fair: there’s value in learning to tell your story well. But there’s a fine line between branding and bullshit. Most people are terrible at knowing the difference.
I’ve worked with so many companies that look great on paper. Big logos, fancy offices, high-growth potential. But under the covers? A culture built on fear, confusion, and burnout. A sales team that can’t tell you what makes their product actually matter. A leadership team chasing trends instead of building a vision. That’s the result of performance as a substitute for purpose.
Here’s what I believe at my very core: Authenticity scales. Hype doesn’t.
So whatever you do - be it in a boardroom, on a set, writing code, or leading a team - do it with your full voice. Your real voice. The one that asks hard questions, admits what it doesn’t know, and builds trust by showing up earnestly.
3. Trust: The Only Metric That Compounds
A lot of what we measure today - clicks, impressions, email open rate - is just noise. The only metric that compounds over time, in business and in life, is trust.
Trust is what keeps customers coming back. It’s what makes a client say yes when your price is higher. It’s what makes a team stick together during rough quarters. And it’s what turns talent into leaders.
Trust isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being clear. It’s about keeping your word. It’s about saying “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” It’s about owning your mistakes faster than anyone else in the room.
And that’s not just a professional skill - it’s a life skill. It was Thoreau who said “it’s a fine thing to build your castles in the air, as long as your foundations are on the ground.” Build your reputation on trust and everything else will have a foundation worth standing on.
What No One Tells You About What’s Next
I know graduation speeches are supposed to be uplifting, and I promise I’ll bring this ship in for a landing in a minute. But I wanted to say one more thing first: The next few years are probably going to feel a little weird.
You might take a job that doesn’t look like what you imagined it would. You might feel imposter syndrome so strong you start Googling “how to not look dumb in meetings so that my boss thinks I know what I’m doing.” You might realize that what you studied isn’t exactly what you want to do - and that’s totally OK and very normal. Take it from a history major.
The truth is that progress is rarely a straight line. It zigs and zags and gets interrupted by pandemics or pivots or podcast ideas you couldn’t see coming even if you were looking. What matters isn’t how fast you figure it out. It’s that you keep figuring it out. With intention. With honesty. With faith in yourself that you will figure it out.
You’re not falling behind. You’re building something that takes time.
My Final Ask: Build Things That Make Other People Better
Whatever you choose to do next, whether you’re launching a start-up or joining an agency or freelancing while figuring out your life, my genuine hope is that you build things that make other people better. That make teams stronger. That challenge the default. That leave a place more human than you found it.
Because the real work doesn’t start when you get your business card or your first promotion. It starts when the cameras are off. When no one’s watching. When you decide to lead not because you have to but because you can.
Congratulations, Class of 2025. You’ve got the world at your fingertips. Let’s go build something real. Together.
Well, it’s morning in America and we just wrapped our Memorial Day weekend. Summer is unofficially here. If you’re going to Cannes next month and have some room in your calendar, I’ve got people for you to meet. Reach out and let me know and I’ll make some connections.
I won’t be there, but I will be in NYC for the summer. If you want to catch up, give me a holler. I’d love to see you.
That’s all for this week. Until next time, friends