Distraction rabbit holes

Distractions aren’t accidents. They’re escapes. Every ping, scroll, and “urgent” task becomes our refuge from the demanding work that moves the needle. We’ve weaponized busy-ness against ourselves, mistaking motion for progress. Cal...

Question everything

I observed a team reflecting on their service delivery process, and it seemed incredibly uncoordinated and inefficient. “Why do you do it that way?” I asked. The answer came immediately: “That’s how we have always done it, at least since I have...

Clock ticking

“We’ll research that issue later this week,” someone on my team said about a problem that required attention. I stopped them immediately. What seemed like a minor delay would actually mean clients wouldn’t receive the nevcessary information for...

The recipe paradox

Recipes demand precision. They have been tested and proven to attain the outcomes predicted. Yet we adapt them constantly —substituting ingredients, adjusting portions, modifying techniques. The moment we customize, we create something new. It may look identical,...

Run lean

Last week, I sat with a founder whose company tripled revenue in 18 months. Sales were booming. The team had doubled. Market share was growing. Yet there he sat, staring at the cash flow projections, which showed they’d be broke in 60 days. “How is this...