The Employee Discount Test
When your own people quietly stop using what you built, that's not a pricing problem. It's a referendum — on quality, on culture, on trust, and on whether anyone in charge is paying attention.
What's Your Disc Golf?
He was maybe twenty years old, carrying a trophy so large it looked like it should have its own boarding group. He looked genuinely, peacefully happy at 1 a.m. in Terminal 3, which made him the most suspiciously well-adjusted person in the building. I Googled him two minutes later. Career earnings: $850,000. Meanwhile I was trying to decide whether the airport salad could survive the reimbursement process.
Show Me Your Budget, and I'll Show You Your Culture
A mission statement is aspirational. A budget is a confession — it tells you, line by line, what leadership chose to protect, what got pushed off another year, and what people were quietly expected to absorb.
The Kind of Leader People Tell the Truth To
A green dashboard and a silent room used to mean everything was fine. It took a staffing crisis six weeks later to teach me that's not what it means at all. A few things I've changed since.
You're Not Behind
You're not comparing your life to other people's lives. You're comparing your life to their marketing materials. That is not a fair fight, and you have been losing it on purpose.
You're Probably the Most Expensive Person Doing That Task
Capable professionals often spend their most expensive hours on work others could handle. Better delegation protects your time and helps your team grow.
When to Quit and When to Keep Going
Knowing when to persist and when to walk away requires more than grit. It requires clarity about the goal, the payoff, and the path.