Know Better Studio · Episode 20 Stop Bringing Folding Chairs. Build Your Own Table. In Episode 20, a solo conversation with me, we look at the cancellation of the Grace Hopper Celebration and what it reveals about spaces that depend on institutional funding. What if the room you've spent years trying to get into disappears overnight? "Sometimes the next step isn't bringing another folding chair. It's building a different table." — Cass Cooper A room that depends on someone else's funding was...
4 days ago • 1 min read
CHAOS INTERPRETED Cass the Chaos Whisperer™ This is Bob... After my keynote in Maine, Bob walked up to me, and I haven't stopped thinking about him. Bob is about to go through a big transition. He told me he's spent his life teaching others how to set boundaries. His kids, the people around him. He's worked hard to share the importance of mental health and work-life balance. But for himself? Not so much. And I stood there thinking, oh. I know this one. Because I've been Bob. For years I held...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Know Better Studio · Double Dose Double Dose: Two Episodes, One Email Two weeks, two conversations I can't stop thinking about. This week you're getting both: Jess Wass on why you can't have it all (and why that's the point), and Mai Nguyen on why we don't need more content, we need more connection. Dose 1 · Episode 18 You Can't Have It All—And That's the Point Reworkit founder and CEO Jess Wass on letting go of the "have it all" promise and building a life around intentional tradeoffs that...
11 days ago • 1 min read
CASS COOPER THE CHAOS WHISPERER Hey Reader, September moved fast. Here's the recap, in case life happened and you missed a piece of it. 👇🏾 On the Podcast 🎙️ Three new episodes of Right There With You this month: Jonathan Sims — "It Doesn't Make Cents: Measuring Value Beyond Money": mutual aid, real value, and why community currency beats capitalism. Miri Rodriguez — "Success, AI, & the Power of Becoming Yourself": rewriting your story, redefining success, and what AI actually means for human...
25 days ago • 2 min read
CASS COOPER THE CHAOS WHISPERER Death to imposter syndrome. I was on a panel last week with a woman who runs the office of a very senior executive at a company you'd recognize. Right before we went on, she told me she was nervous. Then she said the thing. "It's just imposter syndrome." I stopped her. Not gently. Imposter syndrome is not real. It is not a condition you have. It is a story you were handed about who gets to be in the room, and you have been carrying it so long it feels like your...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
CASS COOPER THE CHAOS WHISPERER I used to think a full calendar meant I was doing too much. Last week I was in New York to speak at Out in Tech for the second year. I was excited. It's a great room to be in. But before I left, I had orthodontist appointments, a piano to tune, laundry to do, bags to pack, and house and dog sitters to coordinate. It was a lot. And old me would have called it overwhelming. New me knows better. Because the chaos I'm living in right now was created by a version of...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Know Better Studio · New Episode You're Not Powerless. You Just Need a Better Map. Episode 13 is out now — a conversation with customer experience and data leader Cassie Clayton on systems thinking, transparency, and reclaiming your power once you understand how things actually work. "Curiosity is how we take our power back. The moment you understand a system, you are no longer stuck inside it." — Cassie Clayton Cassie grew up in rural Kentucky and joined the U.S. Army National Guard at 17,...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, A lot moved through Know Better Studio this month. Here's the recap, in case life happened and you missed a piece of it. 👇 On the Podcast 🎙️ In the last three episodes of Right There With You, we talked about: Jennifer Roy — "Don't Burn Yourself Out to Prove You're Ambitious": Ambition doesn't have to cost you your health, your family, or your humanity. Tia Hopkins — "Clarity Won't Save You. But Taking Action Might.": Confidence is less about knowing what's next and more about...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader...I have a confession... There was a time I thought sharing more meant I was leading well. Walking clients through every decision, adding context that felt important, making sure my thinking was fully visible. It looked like transparency. But in reality, I was trying to find clarity in real time. I’ve been noticing how often this same pattern shows up inside my clients and their teams. Not as oversharing, but as a substitute for clarity itself. Three Things I'm Interpreting Does...
6 months ago • 2 min read
