---
aliases: ["July 2025"]
Is A: Month
Created at: "2025-07-28"
Belongs to: "[[25q3]]"
Rating: "😄"
---
# July 2025

## Focus

- Begin [[25q3-ebook]] production — compile, edit, and design "The Engineering Leader's Playbook"
- Prepare for [[25q3-community-launch]] on Circle — set up platform, invite founding members
- Enter [[25q3-peak-training]] block for Stelvio in August

## Highlights

- [[25q3-ebook]] first draft completed — 12 chapters compiled from the best newsletter content, heavily rewritten for book format, sent to editor
- [[25q3-community-launch]] platform set up on Circle — designed channels (ask-anything, career-advice, tech-leadership, off-topic), invited first 200 premium subscribers as founding members
- [[25q3-peak-training]] underway: structured intervals 4x/week, long ride every Saturday, altitude simulation sessions on the trainer
- Newsletter at 72k subscribers — summer slowdown minimal thanks to the community buzz
- Recorded first episodes of [[25q3-podcast-season-4]] — the 3-part "Building Engineering Culture from Scratch" series
- [[person-sara-ricci]] took over community moderation and onboarding, freeing me to focus on content and training

## Reflections

July was the month where the ambition of Q3 became real. Three major launches (ebook, community, podcast season) plus peak training for Stelvio. On paper it looks insane. In practice... it felt intense but manageable, mostly because [[person-sara-ricci]] stepped up massively on the community side. She went from coordinating podcast guests to designing the entire community architecture. The founding members are engaged, the conversations are high-quality, and I barely had to touch it.

The ebook rewriting was harder than expected. Newsletter articles are written for a 5-minute read with specific context. A book chapter needs to stand alone, build on previous chapters, and go deeper. I spent more time rewriting than compiling. But the result feels substantial — not a lazy content recycling, but a genuine book that adds value beyond the newsletter.

Training is going well. The altitude simulation sessions are brutal — 90 minutes at reduced oxygen while doing threshold intervals — but I can feel my body adapting. FTP is climbing toward 280W. Stelvio from Bormio is 24 km at 7.1% average gradient. At my weight and power, that's roughly 1h50m. Tight, but possible. The mountain is calling.
