iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 21/09/2026

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. 👇

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 17/09/2026

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.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 03/09/2026

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

Sturgeon Moon participants during the first gathering over Zoom for Full Moon Forum.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 25/08/2026

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

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.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 02/07/2026

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 during the Harvest Moon.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/04/2026

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.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 17/04/2026

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.

Toronto Product Conference listing speakers and details for a session on leadership challenges, scheduled for May 28, 2026.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 16/04/2026

Which team are you on right now: shipping features or making markets? Talking about the difference at Toronto Product Con on May 28.

Text highlights the importance of leadership in differentiating teams focused on features versus those creating markets.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 20/12/2025

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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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 24/11/2025

Go Beyond Incremental in 2026. Enrollment is now open for my course + live workshop designed for product and engineering leaders who want to break out of reactive mode and lead with clarity. Details below.👇

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/10/2025

My daughter picked only a few pumpkins. Still, her wagon was almost too heavy to pull. That moment says everything about leadership. This week’s newsletter: The Pumpkin Problem. Why focus isn’t the fix, and what actually is. leadershipadvantage.xyz/posts/when-...

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 27/09/2025

I learned poker before I was 10. Sitting next to my dad, uncles around the table, watching them bet, bluff, fold. It looked like luck. It wasn’t. Poker is discipline. It’s knowing when to play small, when to fold fast, and when to raise big on a strong hand. I learned:

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 26/09/2025

(4/4) What will you experiment with this quarter instead of over-planning? 🎯 If this resonates, follow and DM me to start a conversation.

**The Execution Trap: When Activity Masquerades as Progress** You lock teams into rigid, long-term plans that collapse the moment the market shifts. You chase the "perfect launch" instead of shipping small, learning fast, and adapting. It feels productive. Everyone's busy. But while you're marching toward a grand reveal, the market has already moved. **The antidote:** Operating Rhythm → Design cycles that force rapid testing of new ideas → Ship small experiments before competitors ship full products Make learning your habit, not your afterthought. What will you experiment with this quarter instead of over-planning?

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 26/09/2025

The Execution Trap: When Activity Masquerades as Progress You lock teams into rigid, long-term plans that collapse the moment the market shifts. You chase the "perfect launch" instead of shipping small, learning fast, and adapting. A 🧵 (1/4):

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 25/09/2025

(4/4) Don't just prove you're busy. Prove you're making a difference. What's the gap between your metrics and actual customer value? ♻️ Share this with a leader who’s ready for a breakthrough.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 25/09/2025

The Measurement Trap: When Data Lies You celebrate downloads, signups, and dashboards full of green arrows while ignoring whether customers actually get value. You spend 6-12 months building, then discover the market doesn't care. A 🧵 (1/4):

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 24/09/2025

(4/4) Which feels more familiar: endless requirements gathering or rapid experimentation? → Follow me for leadership frameworks that drive breakthrough results.

**The Analysis Trap: When Perfect Planning Kills Progress** You spend months writing the "perfect" requirements document, only to watch it become obsolete the moment customers touch the product. Every new round of approvals adds "just one more request," and what could have been a breakthrough becomes a watered-down compromise. It feels safe. You look responsible. But while you're polishing slides and debating features, someone else is already learning from customers. **The antidote:** Hypothesis Mindset → Replace "we need more data" with "let's test and learn in 30 days" → Treat every decision as a bet you can validate or kill through quick experiments Stop waiting for certainty. Start creating it. Which feels more familiar: endless requirements gathering or rapid experimentation?

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 24/09/2025

The Analysis Trap: When Perfect Planning Kills Progress You spend months writing the "perfect" requirements document, only to watch it become obsolete the moment customers touch the product. A 🧵: (1/4)

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 17/09/2025

If you can win Zoom Bingo before lunch, imagine what your team could do with half those hours back. Most meetings should be an email. But the real fix is finding the right operating rhythm. If Zoom Bingo feels too easy, your rhythm needs work. Where would you start fixing it?

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 15/09/2025

I built my career on grit and strategy. But the biggest breakthroughs came when joy was in the room, and my team actually enjoyed the climb. Early in my leadership journey, I championed 3 principles: • Improve Effort to Effect Ratio • Bring Ideas to Reality • Have Fun A 🧵

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 14/09/2025

🔥 Hot take: Being the go-to person is overrated. If you’re indispensable, you’re not promotable. Leaders don’t get noticed for doing everything. They get noticed for setting direction. I had to learn this the hard way. A 🧵 (1/8)

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 13/09/2025

“What went right?” feels safe. Safe is why most teams never break through. Feature factories stop there. Breakthrough teams go deeper. They ask:

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 27/08/2025

40% of AI answers come from Reddit. You wouldn’t run your strategy off a Reddit thread, but thousands of leaders do it daily by trusting AI blindly. AI is powerful. But not an oracle. Use it. Just don’t outsource your judgment.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 21/08/2025

This is my first take on creating a diagram for my Beyond Incremental framework. I feel like it might be too overwhelming as a diagram. What do you think? #buildinpublic

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 19/08/2025

The best networking hack isn’t pitching. It’s caring. Here’s why ↓

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 14/08/2025

The old way: Chase the metrics. Court the market. Collect the praise. The new way: Build the thing you’d drag through mud, over walls, and past every “no” you hear.

Leadership advice from Andrea MIchalek: Build the thing you'd drag through the mud. Over walls. Past every "no" you hear.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 13/08/2025

Which is the bigger risk to your career? A) Burning the candle at both ends B) Losing the fire inside

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 05/08/2025

A title is borrowed power. The 3 Cs are the real thing.

Leadership framework: The Natural Authority Equation. Competence + Care + Conviction as the foundation for lasting influence.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 28/07/2025

Real growth started when I stopped trying to do everything. Every task I removed gave me back speed, focus, and sanity. Subtraction isn’t a weakness. It’s a strategy. -------------------------------- ♻️ Found this useful? Repost so others can too 📌 Save for the days you forget to subtract

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 24/07/2025

This year, I've been working on a new book about Breakthrough Leadership. I've decided to share more as it progresses to get feedback as I write. Time to #buildinpublic !!!

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 01/07/2025

The brutal truth: → Features get forgotten → Movements get built What problem are you so obsessed with, you’d bet your career on it? 👇 Drop it in the comments. Let’s build conviction together.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 11/06/2025

2-week sprints aren't just for delivery. Here's the strategic power most product leaders miss: - Engineers: identify dependencies before they're blockers - Product managers: share fresh user feedback - Designers: reveal insights from recent research

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 09/06/2025

The PACE Framework for team rhythm: P - Purposeful outcomes A - Async-first communication C - Customer connected E - Escalation boundaries Transform scattered activity into coordinated momentum.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 17/01/2025

A single photo can transport you back in time. For me, it’s this waterfall. It's the day I went from feeling defeated to unstoppable. The picture brings back the strength, pride, and discovery of that day. Do you have a photo of your “I can do hard things” moment?

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 07/01/2025

It's a universal truth: Teams want to win. If your team is struggling, there is never one big change that will fix everything. Instead, find one improvement. Maybe it is getting better at communication, or hitting the next target. Focus on that, and build momentum. It’s not about huge leaps.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 30/12/2024

I just soft launched a free email course for leaders wanting to amplify their impact. If you want early access to it, just reply "impact" in the comments, and I will send it your way.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 09/12/2024

My waking thought: I am going to make this a good week. Then this was the view out my bedroom window (no filter). A positive attitude is a choice. Every sunrise is a gift, and this one felt like a promise.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 26/11/2024

Where have I seen red mushrooms? I immediately thought of this…

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 22/11/2024

Reflecting on: does creativity bring you happiness? Here is an excerpt from my journal 7 months ago. For me, creativity = self care. As the year draws to a close, 2024 has been a year where I leaned into my creativity the most, and I am better for it.

Hand written journal entry tying together creativity with happiness.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 20/11/2024

I don't think that's surprising. Here's an analysis I did pre-Elon, and the same sort of breakdown of the bulk of the conversation is from a small number of accounts.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/11/2024

Thanks for reading my story. Telling it. Sharing it. Helps me in ways I cannot explain. I'll be sharing everything I learn about leadership and rebuilding my company (and myself). Come along.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/11/2024

A fellow patient in my group speech therapy described it as having "blank pages"' in your brain where you used to have thoughts. I had periods where my brain was that way. blank. But slowly, thankfully, it got better. And as it did, my WHY was able to expand again.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/11/2024

• When I got my "big words" back (describing something as noxious) • When I could think of an algorithm again (modeling birds flying in a flock) • When I was able to hike again (to a beautiful rainbow waterfall) These moments are my highlight reel in my head.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/11/2024

I was an outpatient at a brain injury hospital during my recovery. After every visit as I waited for the elevator, I saw this sign thanking one of their staff for "assisting people to restore their lives" I would remind myself that was my goal: 👉 to restore my life

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/11/2024

5 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.

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Andrea Michalek @thatandream.com · 18/11/2024

Forget MVPs. The world doesn’t need more “viable” products—it needs more lovable ones. In my latest article, I share how the shift from MVPs (Minimally Viable Products) to MLPs (Minimally Lovable Products) can reshape product design and bring joy. ✨ Are you building for love or just viability?

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