The journal
Essays and field notes on leadership, teams, entrepreneurship and the decisions behind meaningful companies.
Most founders don’t notice the moment their company becomes dependent on them. It happens gradually. A quick approval here. A small clarification there. A meeting you join “just…
Read the story →A slow team isn’t always an unmotivated team. Sometimes it’s a careful one. I once reviewed a company where everything seemed to move cautiously. Leaders double-checked decisions. Projects…
Read the story →I worked with a founder whose team had grown from 6 to 24 people in two years. Revenue was up. Headcount was up. But his calendar looked worse…
Read the story →A founder told me that recently. And to be fair, he had. Multiple companies. Dozens of hires. Experience matters. But experience doesn’t protect you from structural mistakes. We…
Read the story →Some founders say they want freedom.But structurally, they design to be needed.I once worked with a founder who was exhausted.12-hour days.Constant calls.Slack always buzzing.He told me, “I just…
Read the story →A founder once told me his company had a “people problem.”Projects were slow.Decisions stalled.Small issues kept escalating to him.His conclusion was simple:“The team isn’t proactive enough.”So we mapped…
Read the story →We reviewed the job description. Two full pages. Tasks everywhere. Update the CRM. Coordinate meetings. Manage the inbox. Prepare reports. Everything the person would do. Nothing they would…
Read the story →Revenue doubled. So did the founder’s workload. That’s not scale. That’s expansion without redistribution. I see this pattern constantly. Revenue grows. Headcount grows. Complexity explodes. And the founder…
Read the story →That’s what a founder told me. So we looked at the structure. No written decision rights. No documented processes. No defined response expectations. No escalation framework. Accountability wasn’t…
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