Fractional Friday

January 17, 2025

TRIVIA QUESTION

How many brains does an octopus have?

A) 5

B) 7

C) 9

D) 12

Check your answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

Don’t Let Growth Muddle Your Company’s Strategy

Companies sometimes make investments or decisions that gradually weaken their unique strategy or blur the lines of their original identity. This often happens because decision-makers may not realize that their choices affect what makes the company special. 

Additionally, with many decisions contributing to this dilution, and managers often focused on short-term growth and profit, the original differentiation can get lost. 

Learn how to avoid these pitfalls.

In this edition:
📚 5 New Must-Read Business Books To Set Up Your Best Year In Business
💡 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Visionary Leadership Meets Economic Growth
🏠 When Your Coworker Loses a Home

5 New Must-Read Business Books To Set Up Your Best Year In Business

Last year, you put in double the effort for only half the results, but with some strategic changes, 2025 can be your best year yet. The key to becoming the most successful and fulfilled version of yourself lies in the people you connect with and the books you read. 

Here are five recently released business books that can transform your mindset and motivation.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Visionary Leadership Meets Economic Growth

After leaving the Navy SEAL Teams, the author went on to graduate school and started his journey as an entrepreneur. Since then, he has launched several tech companies, facing both successes and setbacks along the way. Throughout this journey, the author has focused on applying Navy SEAL principles like discipline, resilience, and teamwork to build strong teams and great organizations. 

Recently, he came across the idea of entrepreneurial ecosystems, an interesting way to encourage innovation and collaboration that they hadn’t explored before.

When Your Coworker Loses a Home

What should you do or say when a colleague loses their home in a disaster? You might worry about finding the right words, but staying quiet can make things worse. 

Although there’s no perfect response for every situation, the authors—who have both faced serious loss and damage—offer four helpful suggestions.

Are You A Fractional Powerhouse?

Join our Fractional Only Facebook group. ✨

You can meet others, share ideas, and find helpful resources in our exclusive community. 

We are building a huge, supportive group of fractionals AND we have something exciting coming up soon for everyone!

TRIVIA ANSWER

The answer is C) 9

Interestingly, an octopus has a total of nine brains! There's one central brain that controls its body, along with eight smaller brains—one in each arm. This setup allows the octopus' arms to move independently, enabling it to react swiftly and adapt to its environment, which is crucial for hunting and evading predators.

Like each arm of an octopus with its own mini-brain, you manage many different roles within your organization. As a fractional leader, you simultaneously handle various responsibilities—like strategy, operations, finance, and marketing.

This ability to juggle multiple tasks helps you offer valuable insights and guidance that a leader focused on just one area might overlook. You effectively move your organization forward by switching between these roles—whether dealing with client issues, analyzing financial data, or improving business strategies.

Want to see this in action? Check out My Octopus Teacher on Netflix: Watch here. It’s a fascinating look at resilience and adaptation—qualities every leader can learn from!

That’s a wrap!

Best regards,
Sue Mysko
Founder, Hire A Fractional and Fractional In A Box

> > Join Fractional In A Box today.