Latest Book News (updated 7/27/2026)
There are weeks in this book journey that remind me why I wrote it in the first place. These last two were one of them.
Between an excerpt running in a global PR trade outlet, a thoughtful inclusion in a piece about blacksmiths (yes, really) and AI in apprenticeship, a contributed article on marketing automation, and a note from a friend of 20 years, the core idea behind Wired for Purpose — that humanity is the biggest differentiator in a digital world — kept showing up in places I didn’t plan for. That feels like the point.
Here’s the roundup.
The Street: Roundtable
Two weeks ago, I sat down with The Street host and producer, Jackson Hinkle. In my Roundtable interview, I unpacked what I call the “AI boomerang” effect: nearly a third of hiring managers who cut roles for AI have rehired for them, and Ford recently brought back 350 veteran engineers after automated quality control fell short. AI is powerful—I use it hourly—but it can’t match a veteran’s instinct for the exceptions. The future isn’t humans or AI. It’s augmentation: AI handles patterns, people handle judgment.
Read the write up and watch the 25 minute video interview on The Street
PRovoke Media: The Connector’s Code
PRovoke Media (formerly the Holmes Report) ran an excerpt from the book as part of their “New Reads” series, focused on the chapter where I lay out what I call the Connector’s Code. The idea is simple: in an industry built on relationships, the connector — not the closer — wins the long game. Networking isn’t a ledger you keep score on; it’s bridges you build that you may never personally walk across.
It’s one of the sections of the book I’m proudest of, and seeing it excerpted by an outlet that’s covered our industry for decades meant a lot.
Read the excerpt on PRovoke Media
National Review: What Blacksmiths Can Teach Us About AI
Not a publication I expected to see the book’s themes surface in, but National Review published a piece on what blacksmithing and the craftsmen of the past can tell us about AI’s impact on the entry-level job market. It’s a smart argument about apprenticeship, mentorship, and the kind of judgment that only gets built through years of hands-on repetition — themes that sit right alongside the book’s core case for why human skills become more valuable, not less, as AI takes over more of the routine work.
Read the full piece at National Review
My Contribution to Agile Brand Guide: The CMO’s Hidden Advantage
I also wrote a piece for Agile Brand Guide making the case that I’ve never seen a marketing automation platform close a deal that a human relationship didn’t open. It walks through the three practices I call the Connector’s Code in a CMO context — making the introduction first, showing your work in public, and keeping score in gratitude instead of favors owed — along with three moves any marketing leader can start this week.
Read “The CMO’s Hidden Advantage” on Agile Brand Guide
A Note From a 20-Year Friendship
The piece of coverage that actually stopped me mid-scroll wasn’t press at all. My longtime friend and colleague Chuck Hemann posted a reflection on LinkedIn about knowing me for going on 20 years — reminiscing about the work we’ve done together and what he’s seen up close. Coverage from outlets is great for reach. A note like that is the whole reason the book exists.
If there’s a thread running through all four of these, it’s this: the more automated our tools get, the more the human layer — trust, memory, judgment, showing up for people with no immediate ask — becomes the thing that actually moves the needle. That’s been the argument of this book from day one, and it’s genuinely gratifying to watch other people make the case in their own words.
Thanks for reading along.