Clarity Is the Job
A cluttered mind at the top leads to a cluttered organization at every level.
Read more →The writing of Mig Molina
Desk
Essays on business and leadership, reviews of what I’m watching, and cold-brew notes from Malamig Brew.
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.
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The King's Reign Is Over
LeBron James is 41 and he might still play next season. Even this year, 21 points a game, 51% from the field, 7 assists a night. …
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Builders and Buyers
Acquisitions grow your portfolio. Building grows your brand. They’re not the same thing.
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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
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A Few Years Out
Change is on the horizon
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What Philippine Fashion Brands Are Sitting On
A brand person's take on why local labels are losing ground, who's figuring it out, and what it would take to compete globally
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One Battle After Another Review: Confident, Kinetic, and Surprisingly Funny
PTA's Best Picture winner is a wild, ensemble-driven action epic. (Now Streaming on HBO Max)
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Caught Stealing Review: The Cat, The Chaos, and Austin Butler's Best Work
Darren Aronofsky goes full 90s crime caper, and it actually works. (Now Streaming on Netflix)
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The Bride! Review: Too Many Things, All of Them Interesting
Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale go full monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal's ambitious, overstuffed gothic romance. (Now streaming)
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Why Your Branding Is All Over the Place
Why your branding is all over the place — and what your org chart is hiding.
Read more →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.
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Wuthering Heights (2026) Review: Jacob Elordi Drives It Home
A silly first act gives way to something genuinely tragic.
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Project Hail Mary Review: So Good a Rock Will Make You Cry
Ryan Gosling and a rock alien deliver one of the best sci-fi films in years. (Watch it in Theaters this week!)
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Literal Power to the People
The Philippines has the projects, the capital, and the demand. What it lacks is speed, coordination, and the political will to let its own people generate power.
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The Smashing Machine Review: Go In Expecting Nothing
Benny Safdie's MMA biopic is better than its reputation — if you let it breathe. (Now Streaming on HBO Max)
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The Company in Cyan
Green GSM has a real window right now. Here's what they should do with it.
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CORRUPTION IN PLAIN SIGHT
The rot we've learned to step around.
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Hamnet Review: A Simple Story That Will Break Your Heart
Chloé Zhao's stunning comeback after Eternals is everything that film wasn't.
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Knowing Where Your Brand Ends: A Framework for Brand Expansion That Doesn't Erode
When to expand, when to hold, and the difference between territory, promise, and portfolio expansion — using Oishi, Dove, Magnolia, Nescafé, and Happee as case studies
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Joy as a Radical Act
What Olivia Dean, Alysa Liu, and Alex Eala Are Telling Us Right Now
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The Altman Problem: What One CEO’s Very Public Collapse Teaches All of Us
Sam Altman is becoming the next Zuckerberg — and the lesson isn't just for tech executives.
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Work Shouldn't Just Be Work: Why Creative Autonomy Builds Better Brands and Better Teams
On Gen Z talent, micro-decisions, and why the leaders who trust their people are building something genuinely hard to compete with
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Branding vs Marketing: 10 Things Most People Get Wrong
They're not the same thing. And confusing them is costing you more than you think.
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Why Too Much Choice Feels Like Work
Decision fatigue, brand strategy, and why reducing choice is the most customer-centric thing a brand can do
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Not All Opinions Matter, and That's the Point — A Leadership Perspective
On social listening, signal vs. noise, and what separates good leaders from great ones
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Malamig Brew Episode 9: Bo's Coffee Sagada Arabica Cold Brew Review Philippines
A cocoa-forward Cordillera Arabica that earns the daily driver label
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Casting Singles Inferno Philippines: Who Would Make the Perfect Filipino Cast?
A hypothetical dream cast for a Philippine edition — featuring Filipino celebrities, athletes, and creators (Now Streaming on Netflix)
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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
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San Miguel Pale Pilsen Doesn’t Have a Youth Problem; It Has a Clarity Problem.
A brand strategy analysis of San Miguel Pale Pilsen, legacy marketing, and the cost of trying to speak to everyone
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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
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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
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Sinners Review: Ryan Coogler Makes the Case for Big, Original Cinema
Why the most Oscar-nominated film of 2026 matters beyond its box office numbers — and what it says about Hollywood (Now streaming on HBO Max)
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On Asking "How Are You?" — What Psychological Safety Actually Looks Like at Work
Why care, context, and psychological safety are not soft skills—but foundational ones.
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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
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Materialists Review: A Love Story About Choosing Wrong
Why the casting doesn't quite work — and why Celine Song's new rom-com falls short of Past Lives (Now streaming on Netflix)
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Malamig Brew Episode 6: UCC Roast Master Café Arabica Cold Brew Review
How a mainstream Japanese blend outperforms Starbucks Pike Place in refinement
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Malamig Brew Bonus: Cold Brew Blind Tasting — Ethiopia, Brazil, Starbucks Pike Place Compared
What tasting four very different coffees side by side taught me about blends and contrast
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Train Dreams Review: A Quiet, Beautiful Meditation on Life and Time
Joel Edgerton's breakthrough performance in one of Netflix's most underseen films of 2025 (Now Streaming on Netflix)
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What Leaders Are Actually Paid For
On setting direction, making decisions with imperfect information, and why coaching is the highest form of leadership
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Malamig Brew Episode 5: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Arabica Cold Brew Review — Allo Coffee Roasters
The most expressive bean of the season — fruity, floral, and unlike anything before it
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Malamig Brew Episode 4: Brazil Capricórnio Royal Arabica Cold Brew Review — Allo Coffee Roasters
Why the most inoffensive bean in the lineup might also be the most useful
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Frankenstein (2025) Review: Guillermo del Toro's Magnum Opus
The purest expression of del Toro's lifelong question — who is the real monster? (Now Streaming on Netflix)
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Working with Intention: Why Every Presentation, Slide, and Decision Needs a Direction
On purposeful communication, storytelling with data, and why facts alone rarely move people
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Eden (2024) Review: A Paradise Lost to Timing and Marketing
Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, and Jude Law in Ron Howard's underseen thriller based on a true story (Now Streaming on Amazon Prime)
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Malamig Brew Episode 3: Sultan Kudarat Arabica Cold Brew Review — Allo Coffee Roasters
Comparing two Philippine Arabicas — and what elevation actually does to your cup
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People We Meet on Vacation Review: Are There Still Original Rom-Coms?
A charming but imperfect Netflix rom-com that earns its ending — compared to When Harry Met Sally, Past Lives, and Anyone But You (Now streaming on Netflix)
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On Dignity in Work
Why meaning, purpose, and employee engagement matter more than job titles — a leadership perspective
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Malamig Brew Episode 2: Benguet Arabica Cold Brew Review — Vintage Muning Cafe
A lighter, fruitier Philippine Arabica from the Cordillera highlands
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Malamig Brew Episode 1: Starbucks Pike Place Cold Brew Review (Baseline)
Cold brewing the world's most recognizable coffee — and why it makes the perfect starting point
Read more →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
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My Top 10 Films of 2025 — Horror, Dread, and the Monsters We've Become
Weapons, Sinners, Frankenstein, 28 Years Later, and the best films of a year defined by dread
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