A weekly note from Hugh Hornsby
The
Yellow Pad.
For the people who build, lead, and get things done. One useful idea to take back to your team.
Hugh HornsbyFour decades in the trades.
Still learning. Still sharing.
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Read past issuesOne action to start with.
New to leading a team? Plan your first month as a trades team leader. Ready to hand off more work? Use a clear five-part task handoff.
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From the pad.
Past issues. Ideas worth keeping.
- Issue 08October 30, 2026
If your name is next to every step, you don't own a business. You own a job.
James Hatfield on freedom mapping, learning the language of money, and why speed now beats price in the trades.
Read the issue - Issue 07October 23, 2026
If everything runs through you, there isn't much to sell.
Andrew Pacifico on succession, process over results, and the planning most owners start four years too late.
Read the issue - Issue 06October 16, 2026
Resilience is not a cost. It is how you stay the last one standing.
Lt. Col. Robert Darling on compartmentalization, why resilience is a competitive advantage, and a one-page risk exercise.
Read the issue - Issue 05October 9, 2026
Your company is what you built. It is not who you are.
Dr. Greg Bourgond on the four seasons of life, why identity in work breaks, and one page to plan what comes next.
Read the issue - Issue 04October 2, 2026
The best career advice in your town may be sitting in your truck.
Daniel Quinonez on apprenticeships, licensure, and succession, plus a yellow pad exercise on who is next in your shop.
Read the issue - Issue 03September 25, 2026
A business that needs you every day isn't worth much to anyone else.
Dr. Sam McGough on building a trades business that runs without you, plus a one-page test you can do this week.
Read the issue - Issue 02September 18, 2026
Your team already knows the fix. Have you asked them?
Gary S. Michel on clarity over busyness, plus a yellow pad exercise to find the ideas your crew already has.
Read the issue - Issue 01September 10, 2026
The best reason to choose you isn’t on the price sheet.
Ed Wallace on earning trust, plus a five-person relationship exercise to take back to your team.
Read the issue