Slackers

Everyone has dabbled.  But what does it actually look like when someone who builds things for a living sits down with AI tools every day and puts them to real work? Not the worldview conversation. Not the hype. The actual workflow. The shortcuts. The moment you go, "Oh my god. That completely changed how I work." In this episode of Slackers, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse bring in Keegen Knapp — s...

Most companies define competition incorrectly. They build spreadsheets comparing themselves to the businesses in their category. Same product. Same industry. Same lane. But customers do not live inside your category. They compare every experience they have across their entire life. In this episode of Slackers, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse explore the idea that modern competition is horizontal, n...

Most organizations are not stuck because they lack talent. They are stuck because the system that got them here no longer works for where they want to go. In this episode of Slackers, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse are joined by Aric Marshall , former Apple product leader and founder of ronin.ink , to unpack the mechanics of stagnation and the discipline required to create real expansion. Aric dra...

AI has leveled the production playing field. Text, images, video, wireframes. Infinite. Instant. Cheap. So what actually matters now? In this episode of Slackers, Jaime and Jonathan unpack how AI is fundamentally reshaping branding. When production becomes abundant, trust becomes scarce. And scarcity determines value. This conversation builds on Part 1 of the brand series and reframes brand not as...

Most teams think “brand” means design. Logos. Fonts. Color palettes. A rebrand presentation. But that is not what a brand is. In this episode, Jaime and Jonathan break brand down to its simplest and most useful definition: A brand is a shortcut and a promise. The shortcut is the feeling that fires in someone’s mind when they see your name. The promise is whether you consistently meet that expectat...

In this second installment of the Slackers Listener Q&A, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse respond to listener questions that sit at the intersection of strategy, culture, and day to day execution. The conversation begins with a challenge many leaders face right now: separating durable trends from hype and distraction. Using examples like AI, NFTs, and past technology cycles, the hosts introduce simp...

In this episode of Slackers, Jaime and Jonathan open the mailbag and work through listener questions pulled directly from the community. Rather than abstract frameworks, the conversation focuses on the friction leaders and operators actually experience inside growing organizations. The episode begins with a shift away from funnel thinking toward customer journeys. Funnels prioritize internal conve...

Resilience fatigue is different from burnout. Burnout often comes from monotony or overuse. Resilience fatigue comes from constant adaptation. In this episode, Jonathan and Jaime unpack what happens when high performers are expected to cope indefinitely with shifting goals, unclear finish lines, and permanent urgency. The discussion starts with a simple but uncomfortable truth. Organizations often...

This episode picks up where the last AI conversation left off. Jonathan and Jaime respond to the pushback they heard from creatives who feel unsettled by how quickly AI tools are lowering the barriers to entry across music, writing, design, and software. Instead of debating whether the shift is fair, they focus on what is actually happening and how to navigate it without losing your sense of self....

Fresh off the reveal of his new company IM Media Labs at CES 2026, veteran executive Jim Cady joins Jonathan Sasse and Jaime Solis for a wide ranging conversation about leadership, mentorship, and the moments that quietly shape careers. Jim brings perspective from decades spent building teams and products across consumer technology, audio, and media. The discussion centers on what the hosts call t...

Accountability often gets framed as punishment. In reality, it is one of the most powerful trust builders available to leaders and teams. In this episode, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse break down why humans are wired to deflect blame and hide mistakes, and why choosing ownership instead sends a powerful signal of credibility. They explain how accountability short circuits distrust, builds momentu...

The hardest part of building something meaningful is accepting how little control you actually have. In this episode, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse unpack the idea popularized by screenwriter William Goldman: nobody knows anything. They challenge the belief that success can be neatly planned, predicted, or reverse engineered by copying what worked before. Looking backward makes patterns feel obvi...

When teams struggle, the management instinct is often to hire differently, restructure, or push harder. But those moves rarely fix the real issue. In this episode, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse unpack a framework they have seen play out across companies of every size: floors and ceilings. High floor people bring reliability, consistency, and execution. High ceiling people bring vision, possibilit...

Most organizations say failure is not an option. That belief sounds strong, but it often leads to fear, hesitation, and brittle decision making. In this episode, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse challenge that idea by reframing failure as a natural and necessary part of doing work that matters. They explore the difference between reckless failure and strategic failure, and why the real question is n...

The launch is not the moment your work is judged. It is the moment your work begins. In this episode, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse examine the emotional and psychological roller coaster of launch day: the fear, the pressure, the hope that people will like what you made, and the quiet voice that asks, “What if they don’t?” They highlight why creators often overvalue the moment of release and unde...

Every customer is on a journey, but most businesses never stop to see it. In this episode, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse explore why the customer journey is one of the most misunderstood parts of business. It’s not a map. It’s not a template. And it’s definitely not a funnel. The journey is the lived experience a customer has from the moment they discover your brand to the moment they stay, leave...

Culture happens whether you design it or not. In this conversation, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse dig deep into the mechanics of culture—how it forms, how it spreads, and how it can either power your team forward or quietly tear it apart. Using stories from sports, music, and business, they explore what makes a team “punch above its weight,” why clarity of purpose matters more than perks, and how...

AI isn’t the end of work. It’s the beginning of a new kind of work. In this conversation, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse challenge the extremes surrounding AI—the panic and the hype—and reframe it as a once-in-a-generation shift in how we create, communicate, and collaborate. They break down what AI actually is in practice (and what it’s not), why critical thinking and curiosity have become the mo...

You can’t fake empathy. In this conversation, Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse explore how empathy shapes everything from company culture to customer experience—and why it’s one of the most undervalued competitive advantages in business today. They discuss what empathy really means in practice, how to build it inside teams, and why it has to start with curiosity rather than comfort. You’ll hear stor...

We’re all marketers now. In this first full episode of Slackers , Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse dive into how marketing has evolved from an isolated department into the core operating system of any modern organization. Drawing from decades in media and technology, they explore why the most effective builders, leaders, and creators think of marketing not as advertising , but as everything —every i...

What if work could feel a little more human, and a lot less frustrating? In this short trailer, Slackers hosts Jaime Solis and Jonathan Sasse invite leaders, builders, and creators into a new kind of conversation about work. With decades spent inside the tech and media industries, they’ve seen what helps teams thrive—and what gets in the way. This isn’t another rant about broken systems or a paint...