Top of Mind with Brad Porter
Episodes
Most Scarce Resource in Robotics
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The most scarce resource in robotics right now? Real world deployment experience. This week, I announce our new podcast, “Deployed” as well as t...
Designing for Trustworthiness
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Trustworthy, useful, adaptable have been our bedrock principles for our robots since day one. Today I go deeper on how we think about designing for ...
Technology and War
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Anthropic/DoW negotiation was hard to miss this week. Reflecting on current events, technology, policy, and values. I also touch on the proposed N...
Striving and Recognition
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Reflecting a bit on striving and recognition… why aligning striving with joy and identify is the path to success and recognition.Newsletter
How to Think About Investments
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We’re in a build phase now, AI, robotics, infrastructure… pays to pay attention to the great capital allocators.Newsletter
Design Matters
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Thoughts on design and shout out to the team and our supporters! Oh, and go Seahawks!Newsletter
Cobot's Strategy
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week I go a bit deeper on our thesis when we founded Cobot and how we’re progressing… enjoy!Newsletter
Celebrating My Grandmother
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Cold here in Cedar Falls! Wishing you all the best!Newsletter
More Lessons From My Grandfather
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Broadcasting this week from Cedar Falls, Iowa!Newsletter
Transformation in Physical AI
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The transformation in physical ai is coming, are you ready?Newsletter
Positioning to Ride the Wave in 2026!
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
2026 is here! We can see the swell forming ahead of what will be the biggest change in the nature of physical work since the advent of the wheel. Get ...
Growth and Risk Taking
28 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sharing my thoughts on growth and risk taking! Happy New Year everyone!Newsletter
Responsible Innovation in Robotics
27 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discussing responsible innovation in robotics with Gaurab Bansal of Responsible Innovation Labs (RIL) at the EDGES 2025 Summit in San Francisco. [Reco...
What do we value most in a post-AGI world?
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do we value most in a post-AGI world? Thoughts on the Industrial Revolution and what’s coming.Newsletter
Energy Matters!
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Energy Matters! Thinking about the pace of your business during the holiday season.Newsletter
Innovation and Investment in Robotics with Alfred Lin and Kate Rooney
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discussing innovation and investment in the future of robotics with Alfred Lin (Sequoia Capital) and Kate Rooney (CNBC) on the stage of HumanX (Februa...
Value of Reconnection and Reflection
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The value of taking time and space to connect and reflect.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-73466036290861670...
Boldness and Energy
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Talking about boldness and energy and how it relates to organization change, return to office, and our daily lives.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.co...
Numbers
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Numbers… we finally have some reference numbers in robotics deployments. Enjoy!Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of...
Freedom to Build
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Reflecting on the Freedom to Build.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-7346603629086167040/
Robot Brains and Three Constituents of a Startup
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sunday thoughts on the brains of robots and re-pitching your investors, customers, and employees.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad...
This Week in Humanoids
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
By popular demand, my take on this week’s humanoid announcements.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-73466036...
Value of Solving Hard Problems
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Talking today about the value of solving hard problems! Plus more insight into our robot and lessons from the field. Video: https://www.youtube.com/w...
Exciting Progress at Cobot!
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Exciting progress… Proxie now identifies its own work, tells you where it's going, and completes the task… even in congested hospital hallway...
Best Case, Worst Case, and Likely Scenarios
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Best case scenario, worst case scenario, likely scenario… how do you plan for all three.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter...
Rethinking Performance Management
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rethinking performance management … are you pulling the company ahead?Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-734...
Dr. Seth Teller
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Seth Teller was my masters thesis advisor at MIT. His wife wrote a book last year that dives deeper into his life, the context surrounding his deci...
Are We Thinking Big Enough?
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are we thinking big enough? That’s the question I’m thinking a lot about. It’s really hard to put into proper perspective the pace of the produc...
Competition Drives Innovation
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Competition drives innovation… in every arena! Tune in as I talk about how this applies equally to RC F5K competitions and robotics.Newsletter: http...
Abundance in an AI and Robotically Enabled Future
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The promise of robotics and AI is that we create a far more abundant future. Sharing my thoughts on what abundance enables and why our future has the ...
Hard Work
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The first day in a new building really sets the tone. The best way to honor and thank your employees is to make that a great experience. But you also ...
How to Succeed in Robotics Transformation
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sharing my thoughts on succeeding in robotics transformation by picking partners you’re believe can move the needle for your business and going on t...
Upgrading My Feet - Part Toes
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More on upgrading your feet! How can you tell if your shoes have enough space? I’ll show you. Video: https://youtu.be/68r6FTRGdmINewsletter: https:/...
Bonus: Lesson on Metrics
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last in my series from upstate New York. Here I share a lesson I learned at age 5 about how metrics can motivate us.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.c...
Bonus: Value of Hard Work
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bonus content… learning the value of hard work!Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-7346603629086167040/
Ambitious Culture
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We don’t always talk about the importance of having an ambitious culture. Ambitious cultures can be tricky to manage. Ambitious people have ambitiou...
Money, Risks, and Startups
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week I follow up from last week’s post to go deeper into my philosophy on personal finances.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/br...
Talent
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Top of Mind, I'm talking about talent and why it’s critical to our companies, but also our country.(Recorded in June, 2025)Newsletter: ...
Money, Success, and Drive
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today I’m talking about money and success and drive.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-7346603629086167040/
Lessons From My Father
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share lessons from my father that shaped how I think about leadership and physical AI.(Recorded on Father’s Day - 6/15/2025)Newsletter: https://ww...
Gliding Into Product Market Fit
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I talk about finding thermal bubbles that can help you glide into product market fit. (Recorded in June, 2025)Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/ne...
China Robotics and Managing Blind Spots
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I talk about China robotics and mechanisms for managing blind spotsNewsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mi...
The Value of Compounding
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, MIT Athena, Netscape, Tellme, Amazon Robotics, Cobot… I cover it all in under 4 minutes. ...
Scaling Robotics Foundational Model
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share some insights into how we think about solving the headwinds to building a foundation model for physical AI, share a bit about the value of get...
Humanoids, Cobots, and My Grandfather's Lesson on Success
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Top of Mind, I talk about humanoids vs cobots, and share a powerful insight on success that I learned from my grandfather. (Recorded in May, ...
A Robotically-Enabled Abundant Future
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today's "Top of Mind" discusses our abundant future. This is a topic Vinod Khosla spoke about that I've also been thinking about...
Tyranny of the 50/50 Decision
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I think a lot about decision velocity, particularly how do we make high quality decisions quickly? One of the traps I see I call "the 50/50 decis...
How to Land a Robotics Internship (or Career)
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share some tips on "How to Land a Great Robotics Internship!" and building your resume to differentiate. Simulation experience is in dema...
U.S. Robotics Imperative
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week I talk about the imperative that the US be great at building drones and the criticality of robotics to that mission.Newsletter: https://www....
Self-Play in Foundational Models
12 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Top of Mind, I talk about the value of self-play in approaching novel problems and robotics foundational models.Newsletter: https://www.linked...
Leadership Lesson From Jensen Huang
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share a leadership story that I learned from Jensen Huang during a private forum.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-...
Lesson From A Nobel Laureate
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share a bit of a Cobot update and a leadership insight I learned as a freshman at MIT from the late Dr Henry Kendall, Nobel Prize Winner for discove...
Is China ahead in AI and robotics?
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Top of Mind, I talk about China's AI and robotics capability and what it means for the U.S..Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newslett...
Upgrading My Feet
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share thoughts on upgrading … your shoes, your feet, technology, etc.Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/brad-porter-s-top-of-mind-73...
Humanoids
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's top-of-mind, I talk about humanoid robots. Everything from the type of work they might or might not do, what our robotically-rich ...
Sustainable Energy
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Top of mind for me this week is personal energy management. At Cobot, one of our credos is sustainable energy. The idea is that we need to be a high-o...
Embrace the Odyssey
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this very first episode of Top of Mind, I talk about Embrace the Odyssey, one of the culture credos we have at Cobot.Newsletter: https://www.linked...