About this episode

Todd Henry explores the importance of self-awareness and solitude in effective leadership.

In 1995, Bill Gates disappeared into a cedar cabin in the Pacific Northwest for a week — no meetings, no family, no distractions. What emerged from that silence was a memo called "The Internet Tidal Wave" that repositioned Microsoft for the internet age. He called it Think Week. And it changed everything. Most of us can't take a week off-grid. But the principle behind what Gates did is available to every leader, every single day. In this episode, Todd explores why knowing what's on your mind is one of the most underleveraged skills in leadership — and what you're missing when you never slow down long enough to find out. In This Episode Three things that only surface when you make time to be alone with your thoughts: 1. Patterns you're missing. In the noise of daily operations, patterns accumulate quietly — in your team, your work, your own behavior. You can't connect the dots when you're always running. 2. Tensions you're carrying. Leadership isn't about eliminating tension — it's about identifying and managing it. Unnamed tension leaks into your decisions and relationships. Solitude gives you the chance to finally name it. 3. Your feelings, instincts, and intuition. Your gut is…

People in this episode

Host: Todd Henry

Topics covered

• self-awareness
• leadership
• solitude
• intuition
• management

Keywords

• self-awareness
• leadership
• solitude
• intuition
• Bill Gates
• Microsoft
• Think Week

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Microsoft

Books & works: The Internet Tidal Wave

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