Ownership – Grandpa Bob Encouraging Leadership

Simplifying 2026, One Decision at a Time

Every December, I return to a familiar practice. I reread a few of my older posts, looking for threads that might help clarify my thinking about the year ahead. Last year, on the final day of 2024, I wrote a short post on my goals for 2025:

-Serve the quests of others over my own
-Offer insights and advice, not direction
-Push beyond my comfort zone and inspire others to do the same
-Bring the loaves and fishes, and trust God with the rest

I see that I longed for simplicity without mentioning it directly. I wanted more presence, more clarity, more intention, and a little less noise in a world that seems to generate more every year.

This week, as I listened to Tim Ferriss speak with Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck about simplifying life, I realized this desire has been with me for a long time. More than a decade ago, I wrote a short post called Becoming a Chief Simplicity Officer, describing how organizations thrive when they remove friction and create clean intuitive paths so people can focus on what truly matters. The idea was straightforward. When systems run smoothly, people flourish.

It turns out this Chief Simplicity Officer role fits in life just as well as leadership. Someone needs to step into the work of reducing complexity, eliminating friction, and clearing space for the things that deserve attention. Someone needs to guard the essentials by shedding the excess.

That someone is me, and it’s you in your life.

From Tim Ferriss’s Podcast

Derek Sivers: Simple Isn’t Easy, but It Is Freedom

Derek Sivers says simplicity requires intention. It doesn’t appear just because we cut a few tasks or say no occasionally. It takes shape when we clear away commitments that no longer belong and choose what contributes to the life we want to live. He often talks about building life from first principles instead of living on top of default settings.

Every recurring obligation fills space that could hold something meaningful. Every dependency adds weight. Every unfinished task pulls at the edges of our attention.

What possibilities would rise if complexity stopped crowding the edges of your life?

Seth Godin: Boundaries Create Clarity

Seth Godin approaches simplicity through the lens of clarity. When you know exactly who your work is for, you stop bending your days around expectations that were never meant to guide your decisions. Clear boundaries turn vague intentions into choices you can actually live out.

Simplicity often follows sharper edges. Define your edges, and the path through each day becomes easier to walk.

Martha Beck: Choose Joy, Not Habit

Martha Beck speaks of simplicity in the language of joy. She tells a story from her twenties when she made a single choice that reshaped her life. She turned toward joy and stepped away from misery, even when the joyful path cost more in the moment. Joy has a way of clearing the fog. It cuts through distraction and highlights what brings life.

Her words invite us to examine the decisions we’ve kept out of habit or comfort. Some habits strengthen our soul. Others only multiply clutter. Joy reveals the difference.

Ten Simplicity Moves for the Start of 2026

These actions are small, but each one lightens the load. They remove stones from a shoe you may have been walking with for years without realizing.

Cancel one subscription that no longer serves you. Even a small change can create a surprising sense of clarity.
Choose one non-negotiable time boundary and honor it. Maybe evening email and scrolling limits or a weekly focus block on your calendar. Small open spaces accumulate over time.
Simplify one recurring decision. Automate it, template it, or eliminate it entirely.
Pause one habit you maintain out of inertia. Give yourself a week to assess its value.
Identify one activity that consistently brings joy and schedule time for it this week.
Unsubscribe from three email lists that add noise instead of value.
Clear one surface you see every day. A calm space refreshes the mind.
Revisit your goals from last year and carry forward only what still matters. Release the rest.
Decide who you are working for. Clarity about your audience sharpens the work you choose to do.
Ask yourself one grounding question: What do I truly need to live the life I want? Let your answer shape what stays and what goes.

Looking Back at 2025 and Forward Into 2026

My goals for 2025 were aimed at deeper alignment with the things I care about. They served me well and opened my heart to possibilities I never would have imagined. I’ll carry these goals into 2026 (and beyond).

For 2026, I’m adding one specific goal to my list. I started working on this goal a few months ago, and it’s pushing me way outside of my comfort zone. While it’s a personal quest (and not one that serves the quests of others over my own), I believe it will serve others on their journey. I’ll be bringing the loaves and fishes and trusting God to do the rest. I’ll share more details later.

A Closing Invitation

Simplicity grows as unnecessary weight falls away and clarity rises in its place. You don’t need a title or a plan to begin.

You only need to choose.

Choose clarity.

Choose boundaries.

Choose joy.

Choose to be the Chief Simplicity Officer in your own life.

Let this be the year you simplify your days and rediscover the freedom and clarity that come from intentional living.

Photo by Paul Earle on Unsplash

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When an Idea Stops Being Yours Alone

There’s a quiet moment in meaningful work when your idea begins to live in someone else. You see it in the way they talk about it. You hear it in their enthusiasm. You notice how they add their experience and their language to it until the idea carries their imprint as much as yours.

It can feel strange the first time it happens. You know the origin, but they suddenly feel the spark of the idea for themselves. That’s the moment you know your idea has begun to grow.

Real success often arrives like this, but we don’t always notice it. People begin to adopt your idea, reshape it, and eventually believe in it with a conviction that can be surprising. They explain it to others in their own voice. They defend it. They improve it. If the idea spreads far enough, some will forget where it began. Your name may fade from the origin story. That loss of attribution can sting if you hold the idea too tightly. It should feel like success instead.

Leaders have a responsibility here. Ideas rarely spread through logic alone. They spread through emotional ownership that grows when people discover a piece of themselves in the idea. When that happens, they carry the idea farther than you ever could by insisting on authorship.

A leader’s task is to create the conditions for this transfer. You offer the early shape of the idea, then invite others to step inside and help build the next version. You ask for their insight, their experience, and their concerns. You let their fingerprints gather on the surface until the idea becomes a shared creation. People support what they help to shape.

As others begin to adopt your idea, they’ll need to feel safety in their new enthusiasm. They need to know they’re not the only ones who believe in this direction. A wise leader pays attention to this. They take the people who have embraced their idea and introduce them to others who have done the same. They form new connections, helping to create a small community where confidence strengthens and courage grows. When people see others adopting the same idea, they feel validated, understood, and ready to act.

This is how ideas gain momentum inside organizations. One person sees the promise. Another begins to shape it. A third begins to feel inspired. Before long, it becomes a shared narrative. It starts with your imagination, but it continues through their belief and conviction.

Once people begin to adopt your idea, you must release it. You may or may not receive credit for it. Either outcome is acceptable.

The goal was never to build a monument to your creativity. The goal was to move the organization forward. When others bring your idea into new conversations without you, your contribution has done its job.

Your attention can return to the horizon. There’s always another idea waiting for you, another possibility that needs your curiosity, another problem that needs new framing.

Good leaders plant seeds. Great leaders celebrate when those seeds take root across the organization.

Inspired by Dr. Michael Levin’s post, h/t – Tim Ferriss

Photo by Alex Beauchamp on Unsplash – a new idea taking root and growing beyond its beginning.

The Noonday Devil and the Lie of Boredom

Psalm 91 promises safety from dangers both visible and invisible, from “the terror by night” to “the arrow that flieth by day.”

In verse 6, we read: “Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”

The Desert Fathers, those early Christians who left the cities around the third and fourth centuries to live in the desert, drew on this verse to describe one of their deepest spiritual struggles. They called it the noonday devil.

This devil represents an interior battle, a weariness of the soul that crept in at midday when the sun beat down, the silence grew heavy, and the temptation to abandon their prayer and vocation felt overwhelming.

They named this struggle acedia. Sometimes it’s translated as sloth, but it is much more than that.

How many kids have said to their parents, “I’m bored.” We remind them that boredom is in their heads. They can use their imagination, find a book, or play outside. And if that doesn’t land, we parents always have another cure for their boredom: chores.

It’s amazing how quickly boredom vanishes when a child is handed a rake, a shovel, or a basket of laundry to fold.

Boredom is what happens when we can’t see the meaning in what we’re doing. Acedia is boredom’s older cousin. Spiritual weariness with much deeper stakes.

It’s restlessness, a refusal to care, a loss of joy in the very things that give life meaning. It can show up as distraction or busyness. Acedia tempts us to walk away when the middle of the journey feels too long and too heavy.

I think of the countless days spent inching along in rush-hour traffic, morning after morning, just to get to work. I’d put in a full day’s work, then crawl through another hour or more of brake lights to get home. The next day brought the same routine. After a while, it was easy to think maybe the whole thing had no meaning.

That’s the noonday devil at work.

The midpoints of life test us in a similar way. Paying bills, the daily grind of a career without clear progress, responsibilities that seem to grow heavier without much relief. Our internal voice asks, “How can I escape? Should I look for something easier?”

Jean-Charles Nault’s The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times says this ancient struggle is alive and well today. It shows up in constant scrolling, in working ourselves to exhaustion to avoid deeper questions, in chasing novelty because the present moment feels too heavy.

The Desert Fathers found the answer was to persevere through, but with far more than sheer willpower. Keep praying, even when prayer feels dry. Stay faithful to commitments, even when they feel heavy. Lean into your community rather than isolating from it. Practice humility and remember that perseverance is possible only by God’s grace.

What does this look like? When we feel the pull toward endless scrolling, we might instead text a friend or call a family member. When work feels meaningless, we can remember the people our efforts serve, even if indirectly. When prayer feels empty, we show up anyway, trusting that faithfulness itself has value beyond our feelings in the moment.

The noonday devil tempts us to think that only extraordinary lives matter. But as Oliver Burkeman points out in his idea of “cosmic insignificance therapy,” recognizing our smallness frees us to find profound meaning in ordinary acts.

The daily work of caring for children, preparing meals, or showing up for neighbors and friends carries as much weight as anything could. These acts may never make headlines, but in God’s eyes they shine with eternal value.

Persevering in small, steady commitments resists acedia and helps us discover joy in the very places where meaning often hides.

Psalm 91 carries a promise, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust.”

God invites us to rest beneath His wings, to trust Him in the heat of the day, and to discover joy at the very heart of our journey.

Faithfulness in the ordinary is never wasted. Under His wings, even the smallest acts take on eternal meaning.

h/t – Hallow app – Noonday Devil; Tim Ferris – Oliver Burkeman’s Cosmic Insignificance Therapy

Photo by Mauro Lima on Unsplash

100 Lessons for Playing (and Winning) the Long Game of Leadership

Ideas and wisdom often arrive with familiar roots.

My views on leadership come from my lived experiences and lessons I’ve learned from great builders and thinkers like Andrew Carnegie, Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Ken Blanchard, Marshall Goldsmith, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Jack Welch, Seth Godin, Jeff Bezos, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tim Ferriss, Jocko Willink, James Clear, and countless others.

I’ve also worked with amazing managers and mentors over many decades, including a few who taught me what not to do.

Since I find myself often returning to these lessons, I thought it would be useful to write them down in a list for easier reference.

Leadership Foundations

1. Leadership begins in your mind long before it shows up in your actions.

2. Self-awareness is a leader’s first and most enduring responsibility. Know how your actions land, then lead on purpose.

3. Character outweighs credentials over the long haul.

4. Integrity compounds like interest. The longer you hold on to it, the more it grows.

5. Values are the compass that keep you on course when circumstances shift.

6. Humility is the strength to put others first.

7. Influence comes from trust, not job descriptions.

Vision and Direction

8. A leader’s vision must be big enough to inspire, but clear enough to act on today.

9. Clarity reduces fear. Ambiguity fuels it.

10. Momentum builds when people see the destination and believe they can reach it.

11. Vision is not just what you see. It’s what you help others see.

12. The clearer you are about the goal, the less room there is for fear to grow.

13. Purpose is the map. Storms are just temporary detours.

14. Belief in the destination turns small steps into powerful strides.

15. Every action should feel like part of the same bigger story.

16. Sometimes waiting is the boldest move you can make. Strategic patience is powerful (and extremely difficult).

People and Relationships

17. The right people in the right roles multiply results beyond what you can imagine.

18. A culture of respect will outlast a culture of urgency.

19. Listen like the person speaking might hand you the missing puzzle piece.

20. Pass the applause to others but keep the accountability close to your chest.

21. Trust is invisible, but when it’s gone, everything feels heavier.

22. Relationships need regular deposits of attention, not just withdrawals of effort.

23. Helping someone else win creates a tailwind for your own success.

Decision-Making

24. Good decisions blend facts, values, and the courage to act.

25. The first idea is often just the trailhead. Walk farther.

26. Energy without wisdom burns out. Wisdom without energy gathers dust.

27. Choose the option you can defend in the daylight and live with in the dark.

28. A quick, small decision can open doors a perfect plan never reaches.

29. It’s easier to fix a wrong turn early than to build a new road later.

30. Never cash in tomorrow’s credibility for today’s convenience.

Resilience and Adaptability

31. A setback is a classroom, not a graveyard.

32. Flexibility is a skill, not a personality trait. Practice it.

33. Change is the proving ground where talk becomes action. Priorities sharpen, assumptions get tested, and leadership shows up in decisions, owners, and dates. If nothing changes (no decision, no owner, no date) it was only talk.

34. Adapt your tactics, but never your core.

35. The best views are earned with effort you once thought impossible.

36. Challenges test your limits so you can discover you’re stronger than you ever imagined.

37. Sticking with it usually turns “almost” into “done.”

Growth and Learning

38. The best questions are the ones you don’t yet know how to answer.

39. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading. Sometimes before you notice.

40. Pride blocks the front door to growth. Curiosity leaves it wide open.

41. Ask for feedback before circumstances force it on you.

42. Teach your knowledge, always remembering that your actions teach your values.

43. Every conversation nudges someone closer to, or further from, their best self.

44. Failure carries lessons that success hides. Corollary: High water covers a lot of stumps.

Impact and Legacy

45. Success without significance is empty.

46. The influence you have on people’s lives will outlast your achievements.

47. Your legacy is written in the lives you touch, not in the titles you hold.

48. Leadership is something you borrow from the future. It must be returned in good condition.

49. The most meaningful titles are the ones people give you, not the ones on your nameplate.

50. Think in decades when deciding what to plant today.

51. Your success is multiplied when others stand taller because of you.

52. The best proof of leadership is when growth continues without your hand on the wheel.

53. Leave every place and every person better than they were when you arrived.

Communication & Culture

54. Say the quiet part kindly and clearly. Clarity without kindness bruises. Kindness without clarity confuses.

55. Stories travel farther (and faster) than memos. Stories move people. Memos inform them. Stories turn intention into action.

56. Consistency in small signals (tone, timing, follow-through) builds culture faster than slogans.

57. Meetings should create movement. Reserve live time for decisions and collaboration. End with owners and dates. If it’s just a podcast, send an email. If only two people need to talk, make it a call and give everyone else their time back.

58. Celebrate progress out loud so people know what “right” looks like.

59. Honesty scales when leaders go first. Name the hard thing and show how to address it.

60. Culture forms around what you tolerate as much as what you teach.

Execution & Accountability

61. Strategy stalls without a calendar. Put names and dates on intentions.

62. Start now. Ship one useful thing today. Ride the wave of momentum that follows.

63. Priorities aren’t what you say first. They’re what you do first.

64. When everything is urgent, nothing is important. Choose the one thing that unlocks the next three.

65. Inspect what you expect. Review, refine, and recommit in frequent loops.

66. Own the miss publicly and fix it quickly. Speed heals trust.

67. Scoreboards matter. People work smarter when progress (or lack thereof) is visible.

Faith, Purpose & Centering

68. Quiet time isn’t empty time. It’s where courage and wisdom refuel.

69. Purpose steadies the hands when the work gets heavy.

70. Gratitude turns pressure into perspective.

71. Servant leadership begins by asking, “Who needs strength from me today?”

72. Hope is a discipline. Practice it especially when results lag.

Leading Through Change & Uncertainty

73. Name the uncertainty. People handle the unknown better when it has boundaries.

74. Trade predictions for scenarios. Prepare for several futures, not just your favorite one.

75. Replan without blame. The map changes when the terrain does.

76. Communicate more than feels necessary. The vacuum of silence fills quickly with speculation.

77. Keep experiments small and reversible, so learning is fast and affordable.

78. Endurance is contagious. Your calm can be the team’s shelter in a hard storm.

Coaching & Talent Development

79. Grow people on purpose. Make development a standing agenda item.

80. Coach with questions that build judgment and ownership.

81. When you delegate the result, delegate the authority to achieve it. Authority and responsibility should be in balance.

82. Set intent and boundaries. Agree on check-ins. Then step back so the team can step up.

83. Size stretch work to the person’s readiness. Provide the right challenge, real help, and visible sponsorship. It’s okay if they reach the result by a different route than yours.

84. Build a bench before you need one. Succession begins on day one.

Supportive Organizational Behavior

85. Make it safe to disagree. Invite the view that challenges yours.

86. Credit ideas to their source. Recognition fuels contribution.

87. Write agendas as outcomes, not topics.

Systems Thinking & Process

88. Correct the mistake and improve the system that allowed it.

89. Turn recurring work into checklists and rhythms so excellence is repeatable. Then automate it.

90. Map the flow of work end to end. Prune any step that adds no value. Unblock the rest.

91. Measure what matters. Review it at a pace that improves the work.

Stakeholders & Customer Focus

92. Start with the customer and work back to today’s priorities.

93. Define success in customer outcomes, then align processes, metrics, and rewards.

94. Close the loop by telling people what changed and why.

Conflict & Courageous Conversations

95. Address tension early while the knot is small.

96. Separate the person from the problem. Aim at the issue, not the identity.

97. Put the real issue (the skunk) on the table. Agree on facts before you debate fixes.

Energy & Well-Being

98. Protect time for deep work and recovery so decisions are sharp.

99. Model healthy boundaries. Your example sets the team’s norms.

100. Choose a sustainable pace over heroic sprints. Consistency wins the long game.

Leadership is a skill to be learned and practiced over a lifetime. It grows through steady reflection, small improvements, course corrections, and new discoveries. These reminders pull us back to what matters when life and work get noisy.

Whether you lead a company, a classroom, a project, or a family, your influence reaches far beyond the moment.

The truest measure of leadership is the people we serve and the leaders they become.

Photo by Marcus Woodbridge on Unsplash – I love the idea of a lighthouse showing the way, standing firm and steady especially when the waves are their scariest.

Pausing at the Halfway Mark

July 2nd is about a week away. That will be the 183^rd day of the year. The halfway point.

I usually think of the summer solstice as the halfway point since the days start getting shorter after that.

Either way, it’s a good time to reflect.

Think back to January. Back then, you were probably wondering how to shed a few of those extra pounds you gained over the previous two weeks.

While sipping your leftover peppermint cocoa on New Year’s Day, what goals or intentions were on your mind? Did you write them down? Did you share them with anyone?

Be honest with yourself. What have you done that moves you closer to achieving any of the goals you set six months ago? Even small steps count.

Do those goals still matter to you? Have you added new goals since then?

Whatever your answers, write them down. Pick one thing to act on this week to get back on track. Movement builds momentum, and maintaining momentum is the key to achieving any goal.

Don’t forget to celebrate. A new productive habit. A relationship strengthened. A busy season endured (every industry seems to have one).

These quiet victories matter. They deserve your recognition.

Halfway through the year, the invitation is simple. Reflect. Realign.

Begin again.

Side note: Consider doing this exercise with an even larger time horizon.

-What were your goals 10 years ago? 20 years ago?

-Are those goals still important to you?

-Have you made progress on any of them?

-What are your goals for the next 10 years? 20 years?

-What concrete steps will you decide to take over the next 6 months to make progress on at least one of your 10-year goals?

Photo by Elliot Pannaman on Unsplash – why this image out of the thousands I could have chosen from Unsplash? My focus wasn’t on the stark, still, wintry vibe (although that’s nice). I was captured by the story it conveys. In my imagination, this person set out to cross the entire lake. Clearly, their chosen path wasn’t successful. Poor planning? Lack of vision? Who knows?

But the halfway point is a moment like this. A pause at the edge, where we get to decide if our goal still matters. If it does, it’s time to retrace, replan, and re-commit to accomplishing what we set out to achieve.

I’m Not That — What You’re Not Might Be Holding You Back

Sometimes the hardest limits aren’t what we believe we are…but what we’ve decided we’re not.

Leader: I’m hitting a wall. No matter how hard I try, something’s stuck.
Coach: Where?
Leader: Connecting with my direct reports. The one-on-one meetings. All the details. I’m just not wired for any of it.
Coach: You sure?
Leader: I’ve never been good at connection. I’m not super technical. I’m not touchy-feely. I’m not a detail person.
Coach: Sounds like you’ve got your “not” list down cold.
Leader: Isn’t that just self-awareness?
Coach: Could be. Or maybe you’re protecting yourself with that list.
Leader: I’m not trying to be someone I’m not.
Coach: Are you avoiding someone you could become? What if the growth you’ve been chasing is on the other side of “I’m not”?
Leader: What if I do all that work and don’t like what I find?
Coach: Then you’ll learn something real. But what if you find a strength you didn’t know you had?
Leader: That feels like a stretch.
Coach: Growth usually does.

“Ego is as much what you don’t think you are as what you think you are.”
– Joe Hudson

We usually spot ego in people who overestimate themselves. Their arrogance and swagger enter the room before they do.

But ego has a quieter side. It hides in the limits we quietly accept. Not in who we think we are, but in who we’ve decided we’re not.

“I’m not technical.”
“I’m not good at details.”
“I hate public speaking.”

These negations, the things we distance ourselves from, might feel like declarations of strength and clarity.

But often they are boundaries we’ve unconsciously placed around our identity. Once we’ve drawn these lines, we stop growing beyond them. They protect us from challenges, discomfort, and the hard work we know will be required.

Leaders who define themselves by what they aren’t often:

-Avoid feedback that challenges their identity.

-Miss chances to adapt or grow.

-Choose the path of least resistance.

-Struggle to connect with different types of people.

-Dismiss skills they haven’t developed (yet).

If you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself:

-What am I avoiding by saying, “I’m not that”?

-What am I protecting by holding on to that story?

-What might open up if I let it go?

Sometimes the next chapter of growth begins not with a new strength, but with a willingness to loosen our grip on the stories we tell ourselves.

If you want to grow as a leader—or help others grow—it’s not enough to ask, “Who am I?”

You also have to ask, “What am I willing to become?”

Photo by Amir Mortezaie on Unsplash

When Fires Become the Work

Ask someone how their day went, and odds are, they’ll say, “Busy.”

Dig a little deeper, and you’ll hear about the fires they had to put out, the urgent requests from their boss, or the upset customers they had to talk in off the ledge. Everyone’s racing from task to task, reacting to whatever pops up next.

What you don’t hear—at least not often—is someone saying, “Today I worked on our 30-day goals,” or, “I spent the afternoon exploring how AI might streamline our operations,” or, “I studied what our competitors are doing better than we are.”

Most people are caught in an infinite response loop. The big questions get pushed to tomorrow, especially if the boss isn’t asking about them anyway. And often, he’s just as busy reacting to his own list of urgent problems.

Response mode is easy. You don’t have to choose what matters most. Just deal with what’s in front of you. There’s no time for stepping back, rethinking the process, or preventing tomorrow’s fires today. You stay busy. That way, you can tell yourself you’re still needed.

And when the day ends, you can point to everything you handled and feel like you earned your paycheck.

But the real questions are:
Did you move any of your monthly, quarterly, or annual goals forward?
Do you even know what they are?

For many, the answers are no and definitely no.

Working in the business is the default. It’s safe and familiar. It keeps your hands full.

Working on the business is different. It takes time, thought, and courage. It means facing questions without clear answers. It means exploring new tools, unlearning old habits, and imagining better ways to serve your customers.

No fires today? Is your boss on vacation? Sounds like an easy day.

But if no one thinks about what’s next, if no one is asking what should change or improve, and if no one is steering the ship, that ship will eventually drift. Maybe into a storm. Maybe into the rocks.

And no one will notice until it’s too late.

So, ask yourself:
Are you steering, or just responding?

Side note: These questions apply outside of work. If we’re not actively steering in our personal lives, we can just as easily find ourselves in a storm we could have avoided, running aground on some rocks, or drifting aimlessly out to sea.

Photo by Amir Saeid Dehghan Tarzejani on Unsplash

Let the Ponies Run

Imagine owning a well-trained thoroughbred racehorse. Born and bred for speed, this horse thrives on competition and lives to run fast.

Every day, six days a week, this horse trains relentlessly. It has one purpose and one passion: running and winning races. Nothing else matters.

But on race day, you grow cautious. You worry, despite all the training, despite the horse’s proven skill, that it might not pace itself properly. So, you ask the jockey to override its instinct to run fast. You instruct the jockey to hold back the reins from the start.

As the race unfolds, your horse struggles against this restraint. Instead of feeling exhilarated, it grows frustrated. Its natural drive diminishes with each stride as the jockey pulls back, second-guessing the horse’s desire to run.

Finally, as the last turn approaches, the jockey releases the reins and shouts encouragement. It’s time to unleash all that pent-up speed.

But the horse no longer cares. He’s not even paying attention. He lost his competitive edge about a half mile ago as the jockey kept holding him back. Sure, the horse goes through the motions, picking up just enough speed to appear engaged, to show respect for the jockey’s urging. But the spark is gone.

This is a very fast horse, so even his partial effort makes for a close finish. But unfortunately, the horse doesn’t win the race. One he could have easily won if he hadn’t been held back from the start.

If you’re a manager, how often do you treat your employees like this horse? How often do you hold them back from doing the very thing you hired them to do? Do you second-guess their instincts, micromanage their decisions, and restrain their natural abilities out of fear, caution, or to protect your ego?

Consider how demoralizing it is for your team when you take away their autonomy. The freedom to run their own race. When employees lose the ability to make meaningful decisions, their enthusiasm, creativity, and ownership suffer. These are the very qualities that fuel success, and when suppressed, diminish the team’s potential and their performance.

Take a look around your organization. Are your people fully engaged, and running with purpose? Or have you inadvertently drained their passion and energy by holding them back?

There’s something else that’s easy to overlook. When you don’t allow your people to take on challenges, make decisions, and occasionally stumble, you’re not just holding them back today. You’re limiting who they can become tomorrow. Without the opportunity to stretch, fail, and grow, your employees can’t develop the judgment and endurance that leadership demands.

Playing it safe and keeping them on a tight rein risks weakening your bench strength and jeopardizing your organization’s ability to thrive in the future. We’re not just running one race; we’re running a never-ending series of tough races that stretch out long into the future.

Imagine how powerful your organization could be if you simply let your thoroughbreds—all the talent and skills you’ve carefully assembled—run their races the way they know best. Imagine letting them succeed and fail with your support, as part of your team, and not just your assistant waiting for you to make all the decisions.

It’s time to loosen the reins and let the ponies run. Because if you don’t, they might find somewhere else where they can.

Photo by Jeff Griffith on Unsplash

Pressure is a Privilege

I heard this a while back and it resonated with me. That it’s a privilege to be under pressure.

At first, this may seem counterintuitive. Pressure can feel heavy. It weighs on us, steals our sleep, tightens our chest.

The pressure to perform. Pressure to deliver results. Pressure to be the best spouse, parent, grandparent, or friend we can be.

Pressure to grow. Improve. Rise to the moment.

We feel pressure because someone is counting on us.
Our family.
Our coworkers.
Our teams.
Our communities.

That pressure? It only exists where there’s a purpose. It’s a signal that we matter to someone. That our role isn’t meaningless. That someone out there is relying on us to show up, do our best, and help them move forward.

The alternative?

No responsibilities. No pressure at all. No one looking our way.
No one expecting anything from us. No one counting on us.

No promises, no demands (we don’t get enough Love is a Battlefield references in life).

Maybe, no purpose.

The next time you feel the world pressing in, take a deep breath and reframe the situation.

That weight on your shoulders? It’s a sign of trust. A signal of opportunity. A reminder that you have a place in someone else’s story.

In the end, pressure is a byproduct of the privilege to lead, to love, and to serve.

And what a gift that is.

h/t – Marques Brownlee (watch his video to the end)

Photo by Paul Harris on Unsplash

Resist the Rut

It’s easy to fall into the rut.

To assume that delays are normal.
That long lead times are just “the way things are.”
That bureaucracy is an immovable force we’re all meant to quietly and endlessly orbit.

But here’s the question we should be asking:
Does something really take months to get done…or is that just the rut talking?

Ruts are sneaky. They dress up as policies, forms, regulatory frameworks, meetings, approvals.

They start small. Maybe with one postponed decision or an overcautious email. Before long, they’re a deep trench. One that feels safer to live in than escape.

Some processes do require time. Some decisions need careful research and thoughtful consideration.

But not everything takes as long as we pretend. And if we’re being honest, we often lean on red tape as a crutch. To justify inaction, to mask fear, to cover for indecision, to avoid risk. Maybe to avoid the work altogether.

We say things like:

-“That’s how our system works.”

-“These things take time.”

-“We’ll have to check with Legal.”

-“I’m waiting on approvals before I can move forward.”

But what if we stopped waiting?

The 10 Million Dollar Question:

If you or your organization were promised $10 million the moment this project is completed—this thing you’re currently delaying—how long would it actually take to finish?

-How focused would you suddenly become?
-How many hurdles would get knocked out of your way?
-How quickly would meetings be scheduled, decisions made, and steps taken?

If your answer is “much faster,” then the rut is running the show. You’re not stuck. You and your organization are settling for the slow lane.

What if we challenge the assumptions about how long things should take?

What if we stop admiring and massaging the problem and started solving it?

What if we stop delegating or offloading the issue to another department, and just fixed it ourselves…today?

Organizations that resist the rut move faster. They ask better questions. They take the time to consider how to eliminate hurdles. They focus on outcomes, not just process. They know when structure helps, and when it hinders. They trim what’s unnecessary and protect what’s essential.

This isn’t about being reckless. It’s about refusing to be lulled into complacency. It’s about bringing urgency back to the table.

It’s about remembering that progress often begins with someone brave enough to say: “Why not now?”

If you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself:
-Are you really bound by rules and timelines? Or just by a habit of delay?

Resist the rut.

Challenge the default.

Challenge the impossible and make it possible.

Push for better.

It might take less time than you think.

h/t – my colleague, Jacob Smith. An extremely productive and prolific software development manager who regularly challenges the default and always pushes for better.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash