The writing of Mig Molina
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The Position Is Not the Person I ran into a former leader in a mall. Someone from a company I used to work with. I made sure I said hi. I went out of my way, I made sure he saw me, I did the whole thing. Then I walked away and felt the ick. Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review: The Most Grounded This Franchise Has Ever Been Destin Daniel Cretton's first Spider-Man film is a grounded, tightly built New York story, and Sadie Sink's secret casting pays off.
Leadership On leading people, making decisions, and the work of running things.
See all → The Position Is Not the Person I ran into a former leader in a mall. Someone from a company I used to work with. I made sure I said hi. I went out of my way, I made sure he saw me, I did the whole thing. Then I walked away and felt the ick. Communication Can Outrun Intelligence One of the most valuable skills in business, and the same skill can march a company off a cliff. Both are true. Develop Your People Anyway The CFO's question is real. So is the CEO's answer. Twenty years on both sides of the training budget taught me which fear to respect. I Closed the Book Too Early A few months ago I wrote LeBron off. Now the entire NBA is frozen, waiting on one 41-year-old to decide where he plays. That is what owning the narrative looks like, and why relevance is the only real leverage. You Don't Have to Be an Asshole to Be a Good Leader We looked at the cruel ones who won and decided the cruelty was the reason. It never was. See all 19 →
Diversity Marketing Is Working Gap's KATSEYE ad moved denim sales while the louder campaign next door moved a stock price. Three years of Gap campaigns say the same thing about reading the room. Samsung's Petty Genius They named their new foldables to box in Apple before Apple even ships. I'm a Samsung guy, and I'm here for it. Norwegian Air Bet British Airways on the World Cup. The Real Story Is Who Said Yes Most trend-jacking is a miss. The ones that land come down to whether someone in the room was willing to approve the risk, and whether the math actually works. Builders and Buyers Acquisitions grow your portfolio. Building grows your brand. They’re not the same thing. Give Potato Corner Their Flowers A brand person’s appreciation of how Potato Corner keeps the menu interesting, what McDonald’s gets right about scarcity, and why Jollibee keeps frustrating its own customers See all 25 →
You Are Not Your Worst Day One bad interview, one blown presentation, one terrible day. None of them are the verdict on you they feel like. There's actual math behind why. Go Where the Ceiling Is Higher What De'Aaron Fox's move to San Antonio taught me about knowing your worth and finding the right fit. A Few Years Out Change is on the horizon On Dignity in Work Why meaning, purpose, and employee engagement matter more than job titles — a leadership perspective Notes From the Future: Letters to My Earlier Self About Work, Career, and Becoming A 20+ year career reflected through six letters — on resilience, leadership, imposter syndrome, and finding your place See all 7 →
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review: The Most Grounded This Franchise Has Ever Been Destin Daniel Cretton's first Spider-Man film is a grounded, tightly built New York story, and Sadie Sink's secret casting pays off. Film Diary: August 2026 Every film we watched in August 2026, ranked best to worst, good and bad, both our ratings. The Invite No Spoiler Review: Olivia Wilde's Best Since Booksmart, Powered by a Career Performance From Seth Rogen A small, earnest dinner-party comedy-drama anchored by one of Seth Rogen's best performances yet, and easily Olivia Wilde's best directing work since Booksmart. Ready or Not and Ready or Not 2 Review: Samara Weaving Is the Best Killer Bride in Horror A joint review of Ready or Not and Ready or Not 2, and why Samara Weaving carries the whole franchise. The End of Oak Street Review: The Most Thrilling Dinosaur Movie Since Jurassic Park [No Spoiler Review] Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor face down dinosaurs in 1980s suburbia in the most thrilling creature feature since Jurassic Park. See all 31 →
Culinary Class Wars: Philippines — Dark Horses and Predictions Who goes further than anyone expects, who cracks, and my actual call on how this ends. Part 3 of 3. More Stressed Than Singapore The Philippines just topped Southeast Asia in workplace stress, ahead of a country where workers earn several times what we do. A lot of that is our own doing. Some of it we keep calling dedication. An Open Letter to DMCI Homes: Acacia Estates Was the Pilot. Finish the Job. We pay around ₱16 per kilowatt-hour. Residents in Rockwell report paying about half that. DMCI already ran the fix inside Acacia Estates thirteen months ago, and it stopped at the common areas. Culinary Class Wars: Philippines — The Challenges Six challenges, from burong isda in Pampanga to pares on a Manila street corner. Each one designed to test something different about Filipino cooking. Culinary Class Wars: Philippines — The Roster 40 chefs, two hats, one question every Filipino food conversation eventually leads to: who really owns Filipino cuisine? See all 18 →
Malamig Brew Cold brew reviews and tasting notes under Malamig Brew — one bean at a time.
See all → Malamig Brew Episode 9: Bo's Coffee Sagada Arabica Cold Brew Review Philippines A cocoa-forward Cordillera Arabica that earns the daily driver label Malamig Brew Bonus: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cold Brew Review Philippines — Or Was It an Iced Americano? How to tell cold brew from iced Americano — and why it matters for what ends up in your cup Malamig Brew Episode 7: First Tide Blend Cold Brew Review — Allo Coffee Roasters Philippines A local roaster's bold, fermented-fruit blend that tastes like wine transformed into coffee Malamig Brew Episode 8: Good Cup Coffee Daily Driver Blend Cold Brew Review — Cebu Philippines Why cold brew makes a chocolate-forward blend taste surprisingly fruity — and what that reveals about extraction Malamig Brew Bonus: Starbucks Cold Brew Review Philippines — and What Intentional Drinking Actually Means A rushed morning in Cebu, a Don Papa Rum conversation, and why slowing down changes everything See all 12 →
#BetterPH Civic duty, the Philippine state, and the Filipino psyche — notes toward a better PH.
See all → The PH Should Be Best in the World on Facebook Policy Philippine officials finally sat down with Meta in Singapore this week and came away with real commitments. Good. Now the fair question: why did it take this long, and who makes sure anyone follows through? Is the Philippines really poor? What corruption steals from us. Metro Manila's flood control master plan was approved in 2012 at ₱351.7 billion and never built. We spent ₱545.6 billion on flood control between 2022 and 2025. The money was always there. Make Our Taxes Work: Reform the BIR From 250,000 to 8 million pesos you climb five separate rate jumps. After that the ladder stops, and most real wealth was never taxed as salary anyway. We Only Claim You After You've Won On Independence Day: two Fil-Ams in the NBA Finals, the 'halfies' fight, and how arguing about who counts as Filipino keeps us from admitting we never built the rails to grow our own. What If the Government Couldn't Lie to You? CADENA is already moving through Congress. Here's what it means for you, and what comes next if we get serious about it. See all 7 →
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swipe → Email Say Hello Work, questions, or just to say hi. hello@migmol.com Send a note → LinkedIn Let's Connect Brand, leadership, and AI, in the professional feed. Connect with me → The Archive The migmol.com Archive The original migmol.com blog, 2018 to 2021. Brand teardowns, eCommerce analysis, and early writing on AI and data. Browse 25 posts →