Paper Napkin Wisdom - Podcast And Blog For Entrepreneurs, Leaders And Difference-makers

We are drowning in leadership wisdom. Quotes. Frameworks. Podcasts. Books. Slides. Ideas stacked on top of ideas — each one sounding right, useful, even necessary. And yet, if we're honest, something feels off. We've never known more about leadership… and rarely have we lived less of it. This isn't a crisis of information. It's a crisis of integration. We confuse motion with progress. Exposure with understanding. Volume with mastery. And nowhere is this more visible than in the leadership clichés we repeat — often without realizing how quickly they begin to replace practice instead of invite it. The Paradox of the Napkin Before we go any further, let's name the paradox. Paper Napkin Wisdom is about ideas small enough to fit on a napkin — and yes, this piece critiques leadership clichés. But here's the distinction that matters: A cliché is an idea that feels complete the moment you hear it. A napkin is a compression of something already lived. Same size. Very different weight. Clichés give us the feeling of wi