My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Five Layers of Communication Framework
A structured approach to deepening conversations and relationships through five progressive levels of interaction depth
How It Works
Each layer moves from ritual interactions toward vulnerability, with two tracks running parallel: content progression and relationship building
Components
Layer 1: Ritual - automated greetings like 'hi' and 'what's up'
Layer 2: Extended ritual - 'how's your day' without expecting real answers
Layer 3: Surface content - talking about projects, work, or events
Layer 4: Feelings about content - sharing how you feel about what's happening
Layer 5: Feelings about each other - expressing how you feel about the relationship
When to Use
When you want to build stronger relationships, improve team communication, or move beyond surface-level interactions
When Not to Use
In formal business settings where vulnerability isn't appropriate, or with people you don't want deeper relationships with
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“Instead of just saying 'the project is behind schedule' (layer 3), you say 'I feel stressed about this project timeline' (layer 4), then eventually 'I felt disappointed when our communication broke down' (layer 5)”