The Deep Cut 002: The comeback era

There are two kinds of comebacks.

The first is flashy: new hair, new logo, dramatic post captioned “I’m back.”
The second is quieter: a slow, steady return to what you love, because you finally remembered who you are.

This week’s theme is all about reinvention. Not the kind that’s fake or desperate. The kind where you take stock, clear the clutter, and choose what’s next with intention. Because sometimes the work you were meant to do just won’t leave you alone.

So, some changes are afoot.

Same Team is evolving into what it was always meant to be: a publishing company. Not a consultancy. Not a service business. A content engine for better leadership. That means: no more consulting language, no more soft pitching workshops. We’re writers. We’re here to create resources that make leading teams suck less. Free stuff, paid stuff, practical stuff. That starts with a brand-new 1:1 meeting playbook dropping soon. I can’t wait to share it.

And me? I’m returning to my roots in digital PM.
Consulting. Coaching. Teaching. Building better practices with and for teams who actually care. My site’s already in transition—yes, I’m available for hire. (If you’re looking for someone to bring humanity, process, and calm to your chaos, I’m your guy.)

I’ve got four conferences lined up this summer and fall, and I’m kicking off a 12-week Digital PM Summer School on June 10. So yeah, project management isn’t dead. If anything, it’s entering a new phase. Human-centered leadership is finally getting the spotlight, and I’m here for it.

This isn’t a pivot. It’s a return. A renewal. A reinvention that feels like coming home.

The thing about reinvention? Most of it happens offstage. In the quiet decisions, the slow rewrites, the “what if we just did it our way?” conversations. But once you’re in it—really in it—you start to see everything differently. A lyric, a line, a character arc… and suddenly, it clicks.

Here’s what’s been fueling my comeback era this week:

🎧 Listening

Kelly Clarkson – “Where Have You Been”
She’s been at it for 23 years. From winning the first season of American Idol to becoming a legit household name, Kelly has stayed both wildly famous and wildly underrated. She’s hosting a hit show, crushing live performances (caught her on the Today Show this week—wow), and still releasing pop bangers with real emotional punch. “Where Have You Been” is about a love you thought might never come, but it’s also a little anthem for rediscovering yourself. Feels right for this week.

📺 Watching

The Righteous Gemstones (Max)
I just moved on to Season 2, and it just keeps getting messier. The show is about a rich televangelist family running a mega-church empire—and let’s just say: WWJD? Probably not this. John Goodman plays the family patriarch, who we find out used to be a hitman. As one does. This is Southern-fried satire at its finest. The wigs are big, the egos are bigger, and the hypocrisy is, well, biblical. A reminder that reinvention can look holy… but also hilariously unhinged.

📚 Reading

How One Writer Uses Epic Walks as a Creative ‘Operating System’
I found Craig Mod’s piece on walking as a creative “operating system” while digging into AI newsletters for my own article on how AI is (or isn’t) reshaping project management, Project Management Isn’t Dead. AI Just Made It More Human.

What struck me most about Craig 's article? Reinvention doesn’t always come from speed, hacks, or automation. Sometimes it looks like getting outside. Moving your body. Letting your brain stretch without a prompt window. Mod reframes walking as a deliberate, creative tool—one that forces stillness, presence, and actual thought.

Same with PM. Everyone thought AI would kill it. Instead, it’s spotlighted how badly teams still need people—real humans—to make decisions, untangle emotions, and drive outcomes. Reinvention, in this context, isn’t about pretending to be ChatGPT with a Gantt chart. It’s about doubling down on your humanity.

Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Sure, it’s been out for a while, but rereading it now, when so many teams are burned out, checked out, or faking it, it feels newly urgent. Reinvention in how you communicate isn’t just about feedback frameworks. It’s about deciding to be honest, direct, and human again. Especially when leadership feels performative, or connection feels lost. It’s not a “nice-to-have.” It’s oxygen.

💽 Spinning (from the vinyl collection)

Foo Fighters – Self-Titled Debut
This record rips; I'm so glad it's in my collection. Dave Grohl went from drummer of the biggest band in the world to recording alone in a garage, unsure if it would amount to anything. It did. He built the Foo Fighters into a stadium-filling beast with heart. This album is pure raw reinvention energy. It’s been powering my workouts—and this comeback era—on loop.

✨ Admiring

Bob Iger is the reason I still (kind of) believe in corporate reinvention. The man turned Disney from a nostalgic brand for parents into an unstoppable IP machine. He bought Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and somehow kept the Disney sparkle without turning it into pure sludge. Then he retired, watched his successor light everything on fire, and came back to fix it. Iconic behavior. Plus, his memoir The Ride of a Lifetime reads like a leadership manual that actually admits fear and doubt exist. Emotional intelligence, strategic vision, and big Mouse energy? My kind of reinvention hero. Also, let’s not forget: I once shared the stage with Mickey at the Digital PM Summit in Orlando. So I guess Iger and I have that in common.

TL;DR

You don’t need to start over. You just need to come back to what matters. Welcome to the comeback era.