2024 Halftime Recap
The year is 50% over, which is a perfect point to take stock and give you a short summary of what I've been doing.
Highlights
Content
I've been sharing much more of my personal approach to business coaching.
Chief among these were my core philosophy (part 1, part 2) and my patented* (*not actually patented) coaching method called The Long Game Operating System (part 1, part 2).
The feedback has been great, so I'll keep working this angle into my content.
Newsletter name
To match my coaching method and my overall stance on company building, I renamed this newsletter to The Long Game.
The way I see it, there are no shortcuts to greatness.
And more than anything, my goal is to help those determined enough to get good at the long game.
Client work
I've started working with 5 terrific new clients, and have a few more lined up and ready to go after the summer.
Some other client highlights include:
Events
I visited three events so far this year, namely Reboot, Nordic Game and INDIGO.
Each of them has proven to be invaluable in terms of business generation, taking the industry temperature, and meeting friends old and new.
And Reboot gets a special mention, as I spoke there for the third year in a row, this time on the topic of Surviving to '25.
I've got a couple events lined up for the second half of the year, so if you want to meet me in person you can find me at:
And don't worry, if you follow me on Linkedin you'll see copious reminders of this 😉
Most read pieces
During the first half of 2024, these were the most read editions of The Long Game.
Books I recommend
So far, I've read 14 books this year. If you need some inspiration for what to read this summer, here are my top three picks:
Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win (Amazon)
This is the perfect followup to Dunford's first book Obviously Awesome.
It builds on the positioning work from her first book to help you build a better pitch for your company's products or services.
It's super practical and insightful - I've already recommended it to dozens of people struggling with selling.
BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company (Amazon)
This is a terrific overview of Jim Collins' research and approach to company management.
It includes all the best parts from his other books, collected here in the closest thing to a manual for running a business that Collins has written.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book (Amazon)
This is the second book in the solar-punk scifi Monk and Robot series.
In this world, robots have long ago gained sentience and decided to withdraw from society into the woods.
Hundreds of years later, a traveling tea service monk makes contact with a robot who has been tasked to find out what humans want.
It's optimistic, it's philosophical, and you can probably finish it in one Sunday curled up on the couch.
Games I loved
I've finished (or mostly finished) 15 games so far. Since we're heading into vacation territory, I'll give you my favorite games that you can bring on your travels.
Balatro
This game has probably sucked up most of my game time so far.
It's a deck-building poker game, which didn't sound appealing to me at all, but this game is addicting as all hell.
The concept is fairly simple, but the strategies and tactics allow for some incredible plays, which I may or may not have spent hours watching on YouTube.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
This was the perfect game to play with my daughter:
It's nearly impossible to die, and she loves running around the levels while I take care of the enemies.
With bosses, she lets me handle them while she runs around "distracting them".
And every new ability she discovered was guaranteed to trigger a cry of joy.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak DLC
I'd bought the DLC for Monster Hunter Rise ages ago, but I only recently got my copy of the game back from a friend who borrowed it.
The new monsters are some of the best in the series, and the core loop of hunting monsters, looting them and crafting gear so I can hunt even stronger monsters is as satisfying as it's ever been.
I've mostly finished it now, so it's going to be a long wait until Monster Hunter Wilds releases next year...
And that's it for my recommendations.
If you have any must-read or must-play books I should dive into this summer, let me know!
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Right Now
Playing - Super Mario Party
We got this game (and a second set of JoyCons) for Father's Day. It's the first game we've played as a family, and it's been a ton of fun.
Reading - Games Industry Executive Summary
The GIES newsletter is a quick, efficient, and relevant summary of the most important news, rumors and analysis in the video game industry every week, written by my colleagues at Mighty Diamonds. You should probably subscribe.
Watching - The Boys season 4
This is such a brilliant take on the super hero genre. Watching Homelander spiral further and further out of control with his empty smile and twitching eyes is an absolute joy.
See you in two weeks!
Martijn
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