No #200 | December 21, 2025

by Matthew Boyd

Good morning, welcome to the weekly Lead It Cool newsletter.

For reasons I can’t fully explain, I woke up this past Tuesday with a song stuck in my head:

​Goodbye Girl by Pluto.

I hadn’t heard this song, or even thought about this song, in years.

For those unfamiliar with this song, it was released in 1998 and peaked at number 15 on the Canadian music charts. I never owned the album, nor am I familiar with any other Pluto songs.

But nevertheless, I woke up on Tuesday singing these (very catchy) lyrics:

Don’t say goodbye to the goodbye girl​
​Just say see you soon​
​I said goodbye to the goodbye girl​
​And it’s our nineteenth honeymoon

The most likely explanation for my subconscious surfacing this very random 90s song is that I’ve been preparing my brain to write this particular weekly update for a couple weeks now.

As I mentioned last week, this newsletter (my 200th) will be my last for a little while. I’m taking a short break over the next couple of months to work on some other projects.

But I don’t want this to be a goodbye. It’s more of a see you soon (which is probably why the song popped into my head in the first place).

I started this newsletter back in 2022 when I was going through my post-MBA withdrawal.

Like many things in life, while I was in the middle of the MBA program I was completely exhausted and couldn’t wait for it to be over. But as soon as it ended, I realized how much I actually enjoyed it, and how much I missed the challenges, deadlines, and camaraderie.

It turns out the journey really is the destination (cue the eyeroll from my kids🙄) .

To deal with the withdrawal, I started writing this weekly newsletter, creating an artificial deadline for myself every Sunday morning.

It gave me a chance to strengthen my creative writing, a great excuse to stay curious and keep learning, and an opportunity to show off a weird skill of mine: the ability to translate pop culture (especially ’90s music) anecdotes into semi tangible modern wisdom.

For 200 straight weeks, I sat down at my computer (usually on a Saturday morning) and cobbled together some sort of coherent summary of whatever was circulating through my brain that week.

If you’ll flatter me for a moment, one of the things I’m most proud of is that I never missed a single deadline.

This email was always in your inbox at 2:00am PST every week. And there were a few stressful Saturday evenings: times when I didn’t have internet access, or when I maybe indulged a little too much at a dinner party before getting a first draft done🥴.

So this will be my last newsletter for a little while.

I have another creative endeavour that I really want to bring to life, and if (when) it does, don’t be surprised if another email shows up in your inbox from this account sharing the news.

Thank you to everyone who clicked and read this every week. It truly means a lot to me, and I’ve had some incredible conversations over the years because of topics discussed here.

As a final send-off, here are a few articles I really enjoyed writing and often reflect on.

I hope everyone has an amazing holiday season and a happy new year!

"See you soon",
Matt👋😎

⏳It's Later Than You Think

"It's later than you think" is a quote from the recently released Netflix movie The Adam Project, starring Ryan Reynolds.

The Adam Project is a movie about time travel and our evolving relationship with regret.

Over the years I've mentored some University students, and a common question they ask is "Do you have any regrets?"

My instinctual response to this question is that I have no regrets. That I have always been fearless and forward-looking, and I couldn't imagine my life to be any other way. Any admission of regret would be an admission of mistakes.

But as I age, and I gain the maturity that comes from experience, I'm learning that regrets aren't a sign of weakness, they are instead an opportunity to be more mindful of the future.

The author David Whyte says it best:

The Adam Project will not win any Academy Awards, but it will make you more conscious of how you spend your time. Make sure you spend it doing something you know you won't regret, cause it’s later than you think.

🐶Dog Wisdom - Be Positive and Go First

I stumbled across an article on Farnam Street by Peter Kaufman this week that has completely changed my perception of dogs.

It turns out that dogs may have a better understanding of human interactions than most humans do.

Kaufman believes that there are two "Big Ideas" to achieve success in life:

1. Mirrored Reciprocation: you get what you give
2. Compounding Interest: consistent actions over the long term generates positive results

So what does this have to do with dogs?

Well dogs have mastered these two "Big Ideas".

For example, every time a dog owner returns to their home after a long day at work, the dog will greet the owner at the door with an unconditional show of love and attention. And what does the dog get in return? Unconditional love and attention from the owner.

Dogs understand how Mirrored Reciprocation works. They give the owner love, and then they get it return. Dogs also understand the power of compounding interest. They repeat the same expression of love over an extended period which generates results increased adoration from their owner.

But what truly separates dogs from most humans is that they always go first. They don't wait for the owner to take action, they make the first move.

Here's a great summary on this from Kaufman:

So if you're stuck in a rut, or you're frustrated because someone isn't giving you the attention you're seeking, channel your inner dog, and go first.

Next week, I'll be writing about cats and the lessons they can teach us in ignoring and ungratefulness😹.

(Editor's Note: There's a good quote that I heard from a friend that really reinforces this approach to life: If you want to be invited to more dinner parties, start by hosting more dinner parties.)

🏀Adam Sandler - Giving Confidence

I have a confession to make. I really enjoy Adam Sandler movies.

So when I saw that he had a new movie on Netflix about basketball (my favourite sport), I got pretty excited.

The movie is called Hustle, and it tells the story of an NBA scout (Adam Sandler who plays Stanley Sugerman) who discovers a raw but talented basketball player in Spain (Juancho Hernangomez who plays Bo Cruz) and tries to prepare him for the NBA draft.

Bo Cruz, has all the basketball talent in the world, but struggles with confidence issues, which are born out of years of family struggles and self-doubt.

In a pivotal moment in the film, Cruz has just been outplayed and outclassed by his opponents. Feeling embarrassed and defeated, he's ready to give up and go home.

His confidence was gone.

Here is Cruz and Sugerman's exchange:

Cruz: I fly home tomorrow​

Sugerman: Is that what you want to do? You come all this way and have one bad day and you're ready to back down?​

Cruz: No, but I suck​

Sugerman: Do you love this game? I mean love it with your whole heart?​ Because if you don't, then let's not even bother. Let's not open that door cause they're just gonna slam it right in our face. I love this game, I live this game! And there's a thousand other guys waiting in the wings who are obsessed with this game. Obsession is going to beat talent every time. You got all the talent in the world, but are you obsessed? It it all you ever think about? ​Let's face it, it's you against you out there. When you walk on that court you have to think I am the best guy out there, I don't care if Lebron's playing! So let me ask you again, do you love this game?

Recently I was at a conference and the keynote speaker spoke about confidence. We are led to believe that we have to create our own confidence, and this is gained through our own internal/external experiences.

But the speaker challenged this notion. From his perspective, he believes that confidence is not earned, it is given. It is given from the leaders, teachers, role models and advocates around us who encourage others to speak up, listen to what they have to say or be a cheerleader from the sidelines.

And if confidence can be given by these people, it can also be stolen by them, through silencing, ignoring or criticism.

Stanley Sugerman (Adam Sandler) believed in Bo Cruz, and gave him the most powerful gift of all: confidence.

He believed and supported him when nobody else in his life would.

I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you, but I definitely recommend it as an inspiring film to watch this summer, and I promise that there are no golf fight scenes🤣.

(Editor's Note: For the past couple of years I've been teaching a graduate class at UVIC and I use this movie as inspiration on how to teach: give the students as much confidence as possible.)

📖The Best Story Wins

A show my family occasionally indulges in together is America’s Got Talent.

The season finale happened to be this past week, and we found ourselves unexpectedly emotionally invested.

The finale featured ten finalists showcasing a wide array of talents: singers, comedians, acrobats, dog trainers, dancers, and even drone operators.

Each was undeniably worthy of the $1 million prize.

But with competitions like these, it’s often not just about who has the best talent, it’s about who has the best story.

This season, that story belonged to Richard Goodall, a 55-year-old school janitor who turned to music to heal from the loss of his wife in 2021. His Journey-esque voice and his resilience made him easy to root for, embodying the classic underdog story that audiences love.

So when Terry Crews announced Richard as the winner, it wasn’t surprising at all.

It was a testament to the power of storytelling, where the narrative can sometimes be as compelling as the performance itself.

This concept, that the best story wins, extends beyond entertainment.

As journalist Derek Thompson highlights in his recent podcast on the psychology of conspiracy theories, “the best story usually wins, regardless of provable content.”

Whether in politics, business, or everyday life, the most compelling narrative often triumphs over everything, including sometimes over the facts.

In the end, it’s a reminder for all of us: when you want to inspire, persuade, or connect, you need to tell a story that resonates.

Because in a world brimming with information, the best story always has a way of capturing the heart.

🤩PowerPoint Tricks

​

Recently, I was asked me to share my top presentation tips. So here are some of the most common areas for improvement I’ve noticed after watching dozens of student presentations.

Disclaimer: these tips are geared toward in-person presentations using PowerPoint. Remote presentations bring their own set of unique challenges, and that's a whole separate topic🤪.

PowerPoint Presentation Tips and Tricks:

💜 Start with a Connection: As Maya Angelou famously said, “People won’t remember what you said, but they’ll remember how you made them feel.” Right from the start, create a connection with your audience. Here’s how:

1. Tell a joke: A laugh (or even a smile) at the beginning can work wonders to getting the audience engaged.
2. Ask a question: Polling the audience, or a quick trivia question gets everyone involved quickly, and acknowledging the person who answered correctly to your trivia question will make them feel like a million bucks.
3. Share a story: A short, relevant story about yourself can also get the audience engaged quickly.

👀 Maintain Eye Contact: Resist the urge to look at the screen behind you, keep your focus on the audience. Make sure that you have a setup that lets you view the slides on a laptop so you can stay engaged with your listeners. As soon as you look away the audience feels like you no longer care about them.

📵 Use Cue Cards Instead of a Phone: If you need notes, opt for cue cards over your phone. I've noticed that when someone is reading the notes off their phone the audience becomes disengaged. I have no scientific evidence to explain why, but I think it's because when we see someone looking at their phone we assume that they are distracted and not paying attention. Also, phones have a tendency of "falling asleep" after a couple minutes which means the speaker needs to log back in, which is distracting.

➡ Don’t Get Fancy: Animated transitions and embedded videos are great when they work… but painfully distracting when they don’t. If you haven’t fully tested them, stick with simplicity.

🌄 Keep Slides Visual: Take a cue from the greatest presentation of all time: Steve Jobs' introduction of the first iPhone. The first 12 slides of his presentation only had 19 words. It was all visual. Less is more!

⌚ Stick to the Time Limit: No one ever complains about a talk being too short. Be respectful of everyone’s time, stay within the limit, and leave them wanting more.

⏸ Embrace the Pause: When you lose your place, avoid filling the silence with “umms” or “uhhs.” Instead, use the pause to build a bit of suspense.

😊 Smile: Over half of communication is body language, and smiling is a simple way to show interest and connection. If you're excited about a topic, the audience will catch your energy.

🤸‍♀️ Stick the Landing: According to the “Peak-End” rule, people mostly remember the peak and the end of an experience. Therefore, the moment of the presentation that your audience is going to remember the most is likely the end. An easy way to effectively wrap up a presentation is a “Three Things” slide to summarize key takeaways and, if possible, tie it back to your opening.

🔚 Include a “The End” Slide: Another common mishap that I often see is that the presenters will finish their presentation and the slide deck will default to the editor version of PowerPoint or their desktop screen. It's always a distracting moment for the audience. Instead, include a final slide that literally says, "Thanks" or "The End" and leave that slide on the screen as you're answering questions or you are shutting down. It's a minor detail, but it goes a long way in sticking the landing of the end.

Happy presenting!

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Thank you and see you soon! 😎

Let’s connect! 💬 You can find me on LinkedIn and Twitter