My 10 biggest breakthroughs in 2025

Posted on by michael nitschke
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I love a good year in review, and 2025 was massive. 

But before I jump into my biggest takeaways, make sure you’re subscribed to Leadership Letters. I share what’s working in my business, in real-time, so you can apply the same strategies and systems. 

Here are 10 of the biggest leadership lessons and entrepreneurial epiphanies this year (with some bonus resources at the bottom): 

Simplicity isn’t laziness 
2025 was the year of doing less. I sold less, did less, and still grew the business. I learned I don’t need to optimise every minute. Space = the new luxury. 

Breakthroughs follow breaks 
And come to us in unexpected places, like on a 700km bike ride across Thailand or driving in a campervan across NZ. Travel isn’t a business distraction. It’s a business strategy. 

Family first 
My family is my north star. I do it for them. They come first. I schedule my work around my family responsibilities. Also, being a girl dad makes me a more empathetic CEO.  

Health is wealth 
I pushed my physical limits with the charity bike race, as well as started playing basketball two days a week. You cannot lead a high-performing team if you don’t honour your own body. 

Embracing evolution 
I got my first tattoo and finally got my eyes lasered. No more glasses. I’ve leaned into learning about new versions of myself this year. This is a beautiful thing. 

There will always be issues to solve 
But they’re easier to solve with a dedicated system. Want to see our Issues List system? DM me and I’ll send you a link. 

Voice notes + walking 
This has become my primary tool for emotional regulation and decision-making. It’s such an underrated CEO hack. I voice record on my walks (or drives), then put my daily notes into ChatGPT to extract hidden insights. 

I got out of the way 
I stopped trying to control everything and putting out fires. Instead, I saw every issue as an opportunity to coach my team to problem-solve. By pulling back from selling and daily operations, we’ve all levelled up. 

Even well-intended decisions can still be wrong 
You have to embrace feedback without worrying about hurting your ego. You won’t always get it right, but you’ll get better at making decisions over time. 

Reinforced ‘better before bigger’
I leaned into this powerful leadership (and life) principle that helped us through our challenging early years. It’s just as applicable today as it was then. This year, I slowed down to solve root problems, not just resolve the symptoms. 

Here are some of my most popular resources for 2025: 

Make 2026 your best business year yet. Get Leadership Letters every Monday to level up as a leader.