The first book from Andrew Safnauer
DUMP
THE
DRAWER
The Small Decisions That Build Big Outcomes
About the Book
Most people aren't bad at making decisions. They're afraid to be wrong.
So they avoid the call, or make it without knowing what they're actually aiming for. This book makes the case for defining what you want first. Once you know where you're going, the decisions make themselves.
You build that clarity the same way you build any muscle — in small reps, long before the big decision ever shows up.
"The junk drawer of the mind is real, and it isn't that you can't find anything. It's that you stop looking. You start making decisions by default, by habit, based on whatever's sitting on top of the pile. You stop deciding and start reacting."
— From Chapter Two, The Junk Drawer
A Few Lines From the Book
I had a business partner once who couldn't order dessert.
I don't mean he was watching his weight. I mean he genuinely couldn't decide what to get until he knew what I was getting. Every dinner, every decision, he needed to see how I was leaning before he'd commit to a direction. It drove me insane in the moment. Later, I understood it.
He wasn't weak. He was just untrained.
— From the Introduction
The Newsletter
Keep Reading
New writing most weeks — stories from thirty years of building companies, and a few from the garage. Free.
Or read the archive →What People Are Saying
“The only business book I've read that feels like a coffee shop conversation about life's toughest problems.”
— Dustin Jordan
Hitachi Energy
“This book is an essential read for developing leaders at every level.”
— David Green
Supply Chain & Logistics Executive — Kellogg's, Amazon, PON Bicycles
“(Andrew) adeptly identifies and addresses 'junk drawer' decisions that hold companies back, a straightforward yet profound insight that can spur businesses to new heights.”
— Brian Lofrumento
Host, Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Podcast
About the Author
Andrew Safnauer
Andrew Safnauer has spent thirty years building businesses in industries that have nothing to do with each other — and, he'd argue, everything to do with each other. Radio production. Hip hop. Apparel. Exotic vehicle wholesale. A youth sports franchise. A swimwear brand he co-founded and sold after eleven years. Five companies founded, multiple exits, and a working knowledge of what it feels like to make the call when nobody else is coming to make it for you.
He is the founder of NineFive Partners, a Charlotte-area advisory practice where he serves as additional bandwidth for CEOs and founders — the outside voice on go-to-market strategy, leadership communication, and the decisions that have been sitting too long. Before that, he spent two decades running Longtrain Productions, a creative audio studio serving national brands including Bank of America, Bojangles, and iHeartMedia. His voice-over work earned an Emmy, along with Telly and Addy awards.
Safnauer sits on the advisory board of Dilly, an AI-native employment platform, and advises the University of Tampa's Lowth Entrepreneurship Center. He holds a Certificate in Private Company Governance from the Private Directors Association and previously served on the board of the Foundation for Fort Mill Schools. He is a graduate of Ohio University and Seth Godin's altMBA.
Dump the Drawer is his first book.
He lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina, with his wife, Beth. He'd rather drive than fly, usually has a classic car in some stage of disassembly, and still uses the framing hammer he found at the bottom of Lake Winnipesaukee when he was a kid.
On Stage
Know Where You're Going
Decisions feel impossible when there's no destination. Name where you're going and the choices start sorting themselves — each one either moves you toward it or it doesn't. This talk is about picking the destination first, then building the habit of deciding in small reps, long before the big call shows up.
Built for founder groups, leadership teams, and anyone who's watched a good decision sit too long.
Full keynote, breakout session, or a short talk over lunch. Andrew will fit the room.