Thanks a lot for this article, Felicia. There's a scene in "The Wire" on how to run a business, and it predicates on two things: product and territory. There is one side of the room arguing that territory is more important, while another side is arguing that product is more important.

While it's different in every field, the answer will always be product and substance. All the growth hacks in the world won't replace the authentic, genuine, and meaning-driven product that's of quality to people. Just dominating the territory does not suffice if your product is shit.

Of course, they were talking about running a drug enterprise, and a very aggressive workplace and marketplace at that, but treating employees and customers with respect and having a relationship-driven approach to your business goes a very, very long way.

By the way, I love the line that "you can't measure the direct ROI of being a decent person," and how just being a decent person is the long game that focuses on retention and loyalty.

Thank you for this piece, and I'm glad that I was able to give a more comprehensive comment with this new Medium sidebar function. Your work is and will always be inspiring me to approach my craft in the most genuine way possible.