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The Friday Takeaway is served, even if it's a bit hot for a takeaway

The Friday Takeaway2 min readSam Page

The Friday Takeaway 🥡 is served... even if it's a bit hot for a takeaway. In summary: 👥 👥 🍓 🚣‍♀️ ☀️ 💷 📕

Admittedly, it's been a little while since I did one of these. But a few people, including Isabelle told me I should, so here we go.

I do love this time of year. There are lots of summer events going on, both during the week and at weekends, AND everyone is trying to clear the decks professionally to make room for the summer holidays.

The net result - it's busy, but a break on the horizon makes it infinitely more manageable. So a few key highlights from the past couple of weeks.

  1. Lots of work means lots of new faces
    We've been busy hiring at 7DOTS, welcoming Isabelle, Tania, Julia, Taylah and a new Senior PM on the way. It's great to have you all on the team! And all assisted by the wonderful Leigh who sent an incredible welcome gift to the office in the week from GRAPE & Fig. Thank you Leigh for all your support, as always, and the wonderful strawberries.

  2. Taking a day out at Henley
    Last Friday I took a day off to spend at Henley Royal Regatta, having a picnic with some friends. It can feel hard to justify days like this, especially when they take a lot of effort to organise, and I very nearly cancelled going, but I'm glad I didn't. It was a real joy and I made a wonderful new friend, Paul Stabholz, along the way... and I'm happy to admit I didn't see a single boat racing, but who needs that when you are in such great company.

  3. Chatting to Daniel
    I don't usually stop to talk to fundraisers in the street. Mainly because I'm often in a hurry. But on Wednesday I did, and I had one of the most interesting conversations I had all week with Daniel Sarikaya.

We ended up talking about to make a company work, you need to find something you are REALLY passionate about, or something that REALLY annoys you, and focus on that thing. Looking forward to keeping in touch Daniel.

  1. Finishing "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss
    I'll do a separate post on this, but given almost everything in life is a negotiation, this book teaches you how to negotiate better, and in a way that leaves the relationship stronger at the end. It's a MUST read. Thanks Christopher Voss for sharing so much.

I'd love to hear some highlights from your week in the comments below!

First published on LinkedIn.

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title: "The Friday Takeaway is served, even if it's a bit hot for a takeaway"
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/the-friday-takeaway-is-served-even-if-its-a-bit-hot-for-a-takeaway
date: 2026-07-10
author: Sam Page
type: The Friday Takeaway edition
categories: [The Friday Takeaway]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "The Friday Takeaway is served... even if it's a bit hot for a takeaway. In summary:"
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7481280119420989440
---

# The Friday Takeaway is served, even if it's a bit hot for a takeaway

The Friday Takeaway 🥡 is served... even if it's a bit hot for a takeaway.  In summary: 👥 👥 🍓 🚣‍♀️ ☀️ 💷 📕

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/the-friday-takeaway-is-served-even-if-its-a-bit-hot-for-a-takeaway-li1.webp)

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/the-friday-takeaway-is-served-even-if-its-a-bit-hot-for-a-takeaway-li2.webp)

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/the-friday-takeaway-is-served-even-if-its-a-bit-hot-for-a-takeaway-li3.webp)

Admittedly, it's been a little while since I did one of these. But a few people, including Isabelle told me I should, so here we go.

I do love this time of year. There are lots of summer events going on, both during the week and at weekends, AND everyone is trying to clear the decks professionally to make room for the summer holidays.

The net result - it's busy, but a break on the horizon makes it infinitely more manageable. So a few key highlights from the past couple of weeks.

1. Lots of work means lots of new faces  
We've been busy hiring at 7DOTS, welcoming Isabelle, Tania, Julia, Taylah and a new Senior PM on the way. It's great to have you all on the team! And all assisted by the wonderful Leigh who sent an incredible welcome gift to the office in the week from GRAPE & Fig. Thank you Leigh for all your support, as always, and the wonderful strawberries.

2. Taking a day out at Henley  
Last Friday I took a day off to spend at Henley Royal Regatta, having a picnic with some friends. It can feel hard to justify days like this, especially when they take a lot of effort to organise, and I very nearly cancelled going, but I'm glad I didn't. It was a real joy and I made a wonderful new friend, Paul Stabholz, along the way... and I'm happy to admit I didn't see a single boat racing, but who needs that when you are in such great company.

3. Chatting to Daniel  
I don't usually stop to talk to fundraisers in the street. Mainly because I'm often in a hurry. But on Wednesday I did, and I had one of the most interesting conversations I had all week with Daniel Sarikaya.

We ended up talking about to make a company work, you need to find something you are REALLY passionate about, or something that REALLY annoys you, and focus on that thing. Looking forward to keeping in touch Daniel.

4. Finishing "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss  
I'll do a separate post on this, but given almost everything in life is a negotiation, this book teaches you how to negotiate better, and in a way that leaves the relationship stronger at the end. It's a MUST read. Thanks Christopher Voss for sharing so much.

I'd love to hear some highlights from your week in the comments below!