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4 years ago, I had a brain injury.
It took me 3 years to recover.
I had to rebuild from the very basics.
It was the best thing that ever happened.
Here are 10 life-changing lessons I’ve learned.
3 months ago, I started Full Moon Forum for women founders, executives & innovators.
No pitching. No selling. Just real conversation.
But relationships aren’t built in two hours.
That’s why Full Moon Forum doesn’t end when the gathering does.
fullmoonforum.org/membership
Curious about Full Moon Forum? Come experience it.
Our next virtual gathering is under the Hunter’s Moon on October 26.
It’s free and open to women founders, executives, and innovators.
fullmoonforum.org/gatherings
Your network gets bigger as your career grows.
But the number of people you trust with an unfinished thought gets smaller.
A network and a peer group aren’t the same thing.
I wrote about why that matters. 👇
The higher you go, the more people expect you to have answers.
Sometimes what you need is someone you trust enough to admit you don’t have one yet.
I wrote more about that here:
topularstrategy.com/blog/som…
I write about leadership, building things, and the questions I’m figuring out along the way in Leadership Advantage.
Subscribe here:
leadershipadvantage.xyz/news…
I’ve been rethinking what a “personal brand” is.
Not a more polished version of your resume. A more complete picture of the person behind it.
So I rebuilt ThatAndreaM.com around an idea that feels much more like me:
Figuring it out in public.
Full Moon Forum started with a table in Philadelphia.
Last week, the Sturgeon Moon taught me the table was never the point.
The women, and what happens when you give them space for real conversation, are.
Next up: Harvest Moon, virtually + in Philly.
fullmoonforum.org/gatherings
ALT Sturgeon Moon participants during the first gathering over Zoom for Full Moon Forum.
The dream of a founder:
Once I get the snowball to the top of the hill, momentum will build and build as it takes off downhill.
The reality:
That little rock you're pushing uphill is a boulder, and if you stop pushing, it chases you down the hill Indiana Jones style.
Sturgeon survive by navigating deep, changing water, then rising to the surface.
This Thursday, that's our theme for Full Moon Forum's first virtual gathering.
What's been taking shape beneath the surface for you?
fullmoonforum.org/gatherings
ALT Full Moon Forum event graphic. Text reads "What's been taking shape beneath the surface that deserves your attention now?" Photo of Andrea Michalek smiling. Details: Sturgeon Moon, virtual gathering, August 27, 12:00 PM ET on Zoom. "Request your seat" with link to fullmoonforum.org.
I spent my career learning how to succeed as the outlier.
This year I decided to build a different room instead.
That's how Full Moon Forum started, a peer group for innovative women who are done adapting to the room.
New post + upcoming gatherings: topularstrategy.com/blog/the…
For women founders, executives, and innovators:
I’m hosting Full Moon Forum, a private gathering space for women leaders to connect openly and off the record.
If you’d like an invitation to our next virtual gathering this Thurs, Aug. 27, request one at fullmoonforum.org.
Trying to find a lightweight CRM solution, I came to the realization that AI product-bloat is real.
This might be the real reason SaaS products are dying.
Product managers need to exercise restraint in which features make it into their products, ESPECIALLY with AI.
My next newsletter "What does your to-do list say about you?" is coming tomorrow.
Subscribe to get it and stay in the loop on everything I'm creating.
posts.leadershipadvantage.xy…
Under Monday’s Strawberry Moon, a room of women founders, executives, and innovators talked about the things they can’t say anywhere else.
That was the first Full Moon Forum.
Next one: September 25.
Details and the invite request for Harvest Moon: fullmoonforum.org
I saw this quote today and it kept echoing in my head.
Love the life you live.
It doesn't have to be a fancy destination or an amazing view.
Today, for me, it meant choosing to work from my patio. Birds chirping, little bit of traffic, laptop open.
This is enough.
I'm speaking at Toronto Product Con on May 28.
The session: three leadership traps that keep high output teams stuck and what it takes to break the pattern.
Are you going? Let me know. I'd love to connect while I'm in town.
ALT Toronto Product Conference listing speakers and details for a session on leadership challenges, scheduled for May 28, 2026.
Which team are you on right now: shipping features or making markets?
Talking about the difference at Toronto Product Con on May 28.
ALT Text highlights the importance of leadership in differentiating teams focused on features versus those creating markets.
When a chatbot starts its response with, "Here's my honest take..." it makes me cringe.
That's trying a bit too hard to seem human.
Your permission slip to NOT do everything between now and January 1st.
It's ok for it to be business not as usual.
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