Partnerships
How Adrian chooses partners.
Trust comes before reach. Every partnership must make the work more useful, keep claims supportable, and make the commercial relationship clear.
Editorial policy
A partner does not buy Adrian's conclusion, a guest's opinion, or a place inside an undisclosed recommendation. Commercial support may fund useful media, research, events, member benefits, or enterprise experiments. It does not remove the obligation to tell the audience what the relationship is.
Partnerships are reviewed for product fit, evidence, audience value, legal and brand risk, data practices, and the ability to disclose the arrangement in plain language. A logo or discount code is not enough.
The four filters
1. Adrian uses it
Adrian must have direct, current experience with the product or service and be able to explain where it is useful, where it is not, and who should not use it. Required evidence: use period, version or product, relevant context, and any limits on the experience.
2. It advances a brand pillar
The partnership must support at least one clear area of the work: preparation, decision language, rehearsal, operating cadence, ethical influence, human judgment, or responsible AI use. Not enough: broad claims about optimization, transformation, or “unlocking potential” without a specific application.
3. Claims are supported and disclosed
Material claims must be supportable. Risks, limitations, eligibility rules, and material relationships must be disclosed clearly and near the recommendation—not hidden in a footer or behind a link. Products involving health, finance, employment, or sensitive data require additional review and may not be appropriate for the platform.
4. It creates value beyond a discount code
A strong partnership produces something useful: an original experiment, a transparent field test, a founder interview, a member benefit, a research contribution, an enterprise pilot, or a practical resource. If the primary idea is “post the logo and code,” the answer is no.
Preferred partnership formats
- Original field test: A clearly designed use case with disclosed criteria, observations, limits, and commercial relationship.
- Founder or operator conversation: A substantive episode about the problem, product decisions, evidence, and trade-offs.
- Member benefit: Access or support that materially helps Lab or program participants practice the method.
- Enterprise pilot: A defined implementation with customer consent, data rules, and a useful evaluation plan.
- Underwritten research: Funding disclosed in the report; methodology, analysis, and publication remain protected from sponsor control.
- Event partnership: A relevant contribution to the participant experience, with sponsor visibility appropriate to the value provided.
What Adrian does not accept
- Undisclosed endorsements or compensated reviews presented as independent opinion.
- Scripted praise that Adrian cannot substantiate from direct experience.
- Exclusivity that prevents honest comparison or criticism.
- Products built on unsupported medical, psychological, clinical, financial, or legal claims.
Describe the value beyond the logo.
Every proposal is reviewed against four filters: direct product use, brand-pillar fit, supported and disclosed claims, and audience value beyond a discount.