The Operating by John Brewton Resource Library (Paid Resource Made Freely Available for Three Days) - No Filler. All Killer.
Every System, Worksheet, and Roadmap I’ve Built for This Community — In One Place
111 Substackers have become Operating Founders.
Now, every Friday, I’m hosting a 60-minute live Zoom session for all Operating Founders — behind the scenes of everything I’m building, live content creation tutorials, my real performance data walked through in real time, blank templates of every asset I use, and 20 minutes of open Q&A on anything related to building your creator business (that’s 52 live group sessions for $99).
That’s 52 live sessions with your Operating Founder cohort piers who you can build collaborative relationships with to leverage your collective brilliance and massive diversity of experiences to build even more amazing businesses in the time ahead.
I’m documenting the building of Operating by John Brewton in 2026 and want to help as many Substack creators and writers building their businesses as possible.
For $99, you get a front row seat.
[Become an Operating Founder →]
Start Here Today
Most resource libraries are graveyards. Someone dumps forty links on a page, calls it a “vault,” and nobody ever opens it again.
This isn’t that.
Every tool in this library exists because I built it to solve a specific operating problem for myself, for a client, or for this community.
No filler, all killer here.
This is a living document. New resources get added weekly as we build them. If you’re a paid subscriber, you get the complete library. If you’re on the free tier, you get the foundational tools as my gift to you.
For the next three days, I’m making the entire library available to my entire community and the entirety of Substack.
- j -
Here’s how to use it.
Legend: 🔓 Available to all subscribers 🔒 Available to paid members
If you’re new: Pick the Quick Start Path below that matches where you are right now. Don’t try to download everything. Start one path. Finish it.
If you know what you need: Jump to the section that fits. Every resource shows its type, who it’s for, time commitment, and what to pair it with.
If you’re returning: Check What’s New below for the latest additions.
What’s New
February 2026 — Five new resources added to Strategic Decision-Making and Content Systems: the Strategic Inflection Point Diagnostic, Outside CEO Exercise, Bounded Chaos Experiment Lab, Andy Grove’s Playbook for Solo Operators, and the Platform Verdict Worksheet (Week 3). Updated Content Performance Tracker v2.0 and added new workflow documents to Human–AI Collaboration.
Table of Contents
Quick Start Paths
Path 1: Define and Sharpen Your Brand
Path 2: Build a Consistent Content Engine
Path 3: Master AI-Assisted Workflows
Path 4: Develop the EPOCH Skill Stack
🔒 Path 5: Navigate Strategic Inflection Points 🔒
Full Resource Index
Human–AI Collaboration & Workflows
The EPOCH System Strategic Decision-Making & Diagnostics
Curated Collections
Voices I Learn From The Operating Toolkit
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(Access the entire library of articles and resources for $7.99 per month)
0 to 55,000 - The First 90 Days Playbook - What I’d Do Differently Knowing What I Know Now
WINNING THE LOSER’S GAME: The Creator Economy and the Companies We All Need to Build
Quick Start Paths
Not sure where to begin? These five paths are sequenced progressions. Each one takes you from assessment to action in a specific area of your business. Pick one. Start this week.
Path 1: Define and Sharpen Your Brand
You can’t build an audience for something you can’t articulate. Start here if you don’t have a clear positioning document — or if the one you have no longer sounds like you.
Step 1 → 3-Page Brand Strategy Worksheet 🔓 Worksheet · 45–60 min Define your audience, your promise, and your differentiation in three focused pages. No fluff. Just the decisions that every other piece of content and every offer you build will depend on.
Step 2 → Three Pillars Self-Assessment 🔓 Worksheet · 20–30 min Snapshot your current capabilities across your core strategic pillars. This tells you where you’re strong, where you’re exposed, and where to invest next.
Path 2: Build a Consistent Content Engine
This is the Operating Habits progression. It takes you from “I have no idea what’s working” to “I know exactly where my time, growth, and revenue come from — and I have a system that compounds weekly.”
Step 1 → Daily Content Performance Tracker — Week 1 🔓 Dashboard / Tracker · 5–10 min daily Your hands on the numbers. Nine columns. Every post. Every day. This is the foundation everything else builds on.
Step 2 → Content Performance Tracker v2.0 — Week 2 🔓 Dashboard / Tracker (6 tabs) · 10–15 min daily, 30 min weekly review The upgraded system: Weekly Summary, Format Analysis, Platform Comparison, Outlier Log, Kill/Keep/Double Log, and Relationship Log. This is where raw data becomes decisions.
Step 3 → Weekly Analysis Worksheet 🔓 Worksheet · 30–45 min weekly Your Friday Forensic companion. Turn raw numbers into learning, pivots, and next experiments.
Step 4 → Platform Verdict Worksheet — Week 3 🔓 Monthly Worksheet · 45–60 min monthly The resource allocation decision. Audit time, growth, and revenue across all platforms. Identify leaks. Double down on what works. Kill what doesn’t. Best used with: Content Performance Tracker v2.0 and Weekly Analysis Worksheet
Step 5 → Weekly Upskilling OS Template 🔓 OS / System · 30–45 min setup, 20 min weekly maintenance The weekly operating system that ties it all together: learning, content production, and execution in one rhythm.
Path 3: Master AI-Assisted Workflows
AI doesn’t replace your judgment. It replaces the bottleneck between your judgment and your output — but only if you build the workflows correctly. This path takes you from principles to production-grade systems.
Step 1 → Human-AI Collaboration Playbook 🔓 Playbook · 45–60 min to read, ongoing reference The operating philosophy. Principles and patterns for working with AI as a collaborator — not a toy, not a threat, not a shortcut to mediocrity.
Step 2 → Workflow Specification Template 🔓 Template · 30–60 min per workflow Turn fuzzy tasks into structured workflows that AI can execute reliably. This is the bridge between “I use ChatGPT sometimes” and “I have a system.”
Step 3 → LLM Guardrails Checklist 🔓 Checklist · 20–30 min per critical workflow Define constraints, failure modes, and review steps before you hand a workflow to AI. This is how you stay in control without becoming the bottleneck.
Step 4 → Workflow Evaluation & Iteration Framework 🔓 Framework / Worksheet · 45–60 min per iteration cycleInstrument your workflows, measure performance, and refine iteratively. The difference between a workflow that works once and a system that improves every week.
Step 5 → 90-Day Workflow Architecture Roadmap 🔒 90-Day Roadmap · Multi-week journey The full sequence for upgrading your company’s workflows into a coherent AI-augmented operating architecture. This is where it all comes together.
The three paths above will give you a brand foundation, a content engine, and an AI workflow system. That’s enough to operate at a fundamentally different level than most people in your space.
What follows is for the operators who want to go deeper, into skill development, strategic decision-making, and structured 90-day transformation programs.
Path 4: Develop the EPOCH Skill Stack 🔒
The five skills that AI cannot replicate and that the market will increasingly pay a premium for: Empathy, Presence, Opinion, Creativity, and Hope. This path gives you the assessment, the practice system, and the 90-day training program.
Step 1 → Three Pillars Self-Assessment 🔓 Worksheet · 20–30 min Baseline your current strengths and gaps.
Step 2 → EPOCH Self-Assessment & 90-Day Planner 🔒 OS / Planner · 60–90 min setup, ongoing practice Plan 90 days of deliberate practice across all five EPOCH pillars.
Step 3 → 5 EPOCH Practice Guides 🔓 Practice Guides · 20–30 min per exercise Concrete exercises for each pillar. Not theory — reps.
Step 4 → 90-Day EPOCH Mastery Roadmap 🔒 90-Day Roadmap · Multi-week journey The structured training program for building these skills systematically.
Step 5 → EPOCH Resource Library 🔓 Resource Index Deep cuts, references, and supplemental material for the EPOCH system.
Path 5: Navigate Strategic Inflection Points 🔒
Built on the principles of Andy Grove’s Only the Paranoid Survive — adapted for solo operators and small businesses. Use this path when you suspect the ground is shifting underneath you and you need to figure out whether you’re having a bad quarter or facing a fundamental change that requires a different strategy entirely.
Step 1 → Strategic Inflection Point Diagnostic 🔓 Scored Self-Assessment · 20–30 min quarterly A diagnostic that tells you whether your declining results are a performance problem or a structural one. Run it quarterly. Best used with: Outside CEO Exercise and Bounded Chaos Experiment Lab
Step 2 → Outside CEO Exercise 🔓 Quarterly Thought Experiment · 30–45 min quarterly Step into the perspective of an outside CEO with no emotional attachment to your current business. What would they shut down? What would they raise prices on? What would they double down on? This exercise breaks identity grip. Best used with: Strategic Inflection Point Diagnostic
Step 3 → Andy Grove’s Playbook for the Rest of Us 🔓 Deep-Dive Guide · 60–90 min to read, ongoing reference The full translation of Grove’s strategic inflection point framework for one-person and small businesses. How to recognize the signals, make the hard decisions, and pivot before it’s too late.
Step 4 → Bounded Chaos Experiment Lab 🔓 Experiment Library · 2–12 weeks per experiment Pre-structured experiments with hypothesis formats, success metrics, and kill criteria. This is how you test repositioning, new channels, pricing changes, or segment exits without betting the company. Best used with: Strategic Inflection Point Diagnostic and Outside CEO Exercise
Full Resource Index
Everything above, organized by category for returning readers
Brand & Positioning
3-Page Brand Strategy Worksheet 🔓 — Worksheet · 45–60 min
Three Pillars Self-Assessment 🔓 — Worksheet · 20–30 min
Content Systems & Analytics
Daily Content Performance Tracker — Week 1 🔓 — Dashboard / Tracker · 5–10 min/day
Content Performance Tracker v2.0 — Week 2 🔓 — Dashboard / Tracker · 10–15 min/day
Weekly Analysis Worksheet 🔓 — Worksheet · 30–45 min/week
Platform Verdict Worksheet — Week 3 🔓 — Monthly Worksheet · 45–60 min/month
Weekly Upskilling OS Template 🔓 — OS / System · 30–45 min setup
Human–AI Collaboration & Workflows
Human-AI Collaboration Playbook 🔓 — Playbook · 45–60 min
Workflow Specification Template 🔓 — Template · 30–60 min
LLM Guardrails Checklist 🔓 — Checklist · 20–30 min
Workflow Evaluation & Iteration Framework 🔓 — Framework · 45–60 min
90-Day Workflow Architecture Roadmap 🔒 — 90-Day Roadmap · Multi-week
The EPOCH System
EPOCH Self-Assessment & 90-Day Planner 🔒 — OS / Planner · 60–90 min setup
5 EPOCH Practice Guides 🔓 — Practice Guides · 20–30 min each
90-Day EPOCH Mastery Roadmap 🔒 — 90-Day Roadmap · Multi-week
EPOCH Resource Library 🔓 — Resource Index · Reference
Strategic Decision-Making & Diagnostics
Strategic Inflection Point Diagnostic 🔓 — Self-Assessment · 20–30 min quarterly
Outside CEO Exercise 🔓 — Thought Experiment · 30–45 min quarterly
Andy Grove’s Playbook for the Rest of Us 🔓 — Deep-Dive Guide · 60–90 min
Bounded Chaos Experiment Lab 🔓 — Experiment Library · 2–12 weeks
The Operating Bookshelf
I didn’t own a TV in my twenties. While studying economics at Harvard and the University of Chicago, I just read. A decade of books built the foundation for everything I know about markets, leadership, and how companies actually work.
This isn’t a “best business books” list.
It’s organized by the moment you need them.
Find your situation, pull the book (this section will be continuously curated and evolve over time).
When You’re Building Something From Nothing
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries — Audible — The clearest system for running a company as a continuous learning machine. I still use the build-measure-learn loop weekly.
Atomic Habits by James Clear — Audible — Your business is a collection of habits. This book rewires how you think about the small systems that compound into large outcomes.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel — Audible — The best book on thinking about competition, differentiation, and why most businesses fail by copying instead of creating.
When the Ground Is Shifting Under You
Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove — Audible — The book this entire community’s Strategic Inflection Point system is built on. Read it when you suspect your current game is ending. Then use the diagnostic tools in Path 5.
High Output Management by Andy Grove — Audible — Grove’s operating manual for making a company run. The leverage chapter alone is worth the price.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz — Audible — For the moments nobody tells you about. When the plan stops working and you have to lead through uncertainty anyway.
When You Need to Think About Money Differently
The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway — Audible — Galloway frames financial security through simple levers that also describe exactly what you’re doing inside your company every day.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel — Audible — The best book on why smart people make dumb financial decisions. Required reading before any pricing, investment, or growth conversation.
When You Need to Lead People (Including Yourself)
AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee — Audible — The geopolitical and economic context for why AI changes everything about how you compete. Essential for anyone running a business in 2026.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman — Audible — The foundation of behavioral economics. Every decision you make as an operator is shaped by the biases Kahneman maps. Know them.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari — Audible — Zoom all the way out. Understand why humans organize, cooperate, and build the way we do. It changes how you think about every market and institution.
I have 365 of these. If there’s demand, I’ll publish the full operating reading list as a standalone resource.
Voices I Learn From
These are the people whose work I actively follow and whose thinking shapes how I operate. Not a blogroll. Not a networking move. These are the voices I return to because they consistently make me think differently
This list will also be curated to evolve and grow over time)
Newsletters & Writers
Scott Galloway — No Mercy / No Malice — The sharpest voice on technology, markets, and the economics of modern life. He says what most business writers are afraid to.
John Mearsheimer — John’s Substack — Geopolitics from a realist perspective. If you’re operating a business with any global exposure, you need to understand power dynamics, not just markets.
Harvard Business Review — Still the gold standard for rigorous business thinking. I read it for the research, not the thought leadership fluff.
MIT Sloan Management Review — Where the AI-and-operations conversation is most serious. Their leadership and technology coverage is consistently ahead of the curve.
The Economist — The best weekly synthesis of global economics, politics, and business. I’ve read it for twenty years.
Financial Times — Premium business journalism. If you’re serious about understanding capital markets and global commerce, this is non-negotiable.
Add Your Own. I’m always looking for new voices. If there’s a newsletter or writer who’s changed how you operate, reply to this post. The best recommendations will get added here.
What’s Coming Next
This library grows every week alongside the Operating Habits, Operating Storie, The Operating Week Ahead and Scaling Down the Big Idea. series and the deeper guides we publish. If there’s a tool you wish existed, a template, a worksheet, a framework for a specific decision you’re facing, reply to this post or tell me in the Friday session. The best resources in this library started as requests from this community.
— john —
John Brewton documents the history and future of operating companies at Operating by John Brewton. He is a graduate of Harvard University and began his career as a Phd. student in economics at the University of Chicago. After selling his family’s B2B industrial distribution company in 2021, he has been helping business owners, founders and investors optimize their operations ever since. He is the founder of 6A East Partners, a research and advisory firm asking the question: What is the future of companies? He still cringes at his early LinkedIn posts and loves making content each and everyday, despite the protestations of his beloved wife, Fabiola, at times.
Having all your systems, templates, and roadmaps in one place is already a huge time saver.
Great resource! Thanks for sharing! Get it while you can folks!