Leadership rarely happens in calm water. It happens when the road shifts, the rules change, and the plan breaks. My view is simple: uncertainty is not the enemy—denial is. I have spent decades turning around companies, coaching CEOs, and sitting in the hot seat. The leaders who grow do one thing well. They face what is real, fast, and act.
“And you may find yourself living in a shutdown shack.”
That line hits home. Early in my career, I walked into a business that looked successful on paper. The cash flow told the truth. Vendors were angry. Team morale was low. It felt like that shack—lights on, hope dim. We did not have the luxury of a slow plan. We cut what was wasteful, rebuilt trust, and focused on the few moves that mattered. It worked because we stopped pretending.
Stop Waiting For Perfect Conditions
Action beats anxiety. Waiting for clarity is a trap. The market will not pause. Your people cannot live on maybes. As a connector and confidant to CEOs, I see it every week. Leaders cling to old maps because they fear blame. They forget the only promise they made was to lead.
“And you may find yourself in another part of the world.”
That is how disruption feels. One day, you know the rules. The next, demand moves, costs change, and your buyer thinks in a new way. Remote teams, new tools, shifting expectations—none of this is optional. The CEOs who win do not mourn the past. They set a new pace and bring people with them.
Make Reality Your Best Friend
I completed my first turnaround at 28. Since then, I have run four companies, including Bizjournals.com. In each role, I learned the same lesson: clarity is kind, even when it stings. Tell your team the truth. Share the numbers. Name the risk. People can handle hard news far better than they can handle silence.
“And you may find yourself behind the wheel.”
That is leadership. You do not get points for knowing the future. You get points for steering well under pressure, for listening, and for changing your mind when new facts arrive. On the Anything But Typical podcast, I ask founders to share the scar tissue. The common thread is not genius. It is grit, humility, and speed.
What Works When Everything Shifts
Here is what I coach my clients to do when their world tilts. These steps are simple but not easy. They change how teams move.
- Cut the noise: pick three priorities and kill the rest.
- Shorten cycles: plan in weeks, not quarters.
- Tell the truth: share facts, not spin.
- Decide with data and pattern recognition.
- Protect culture by protecting people who act.
- Ask customers what changed for them, then act on it.
- Measure daily. Celebrate wins weekly.
These moves build confidence. They also expose weak spots fast. That is the point. You want small failures now, not large ones later.
Pushback I Hear—And Why It Falls Apart
Some say, “We cannot risk fast moves; the team is tired.” I care about teams. I also know drag is what burns them out. Clear direction gives energy. Another pushback: “We need full data.” No, you need enough data to take the next step. Momentum creates more signal than analysis ever will.
Others worry that honesty will scare people. In my experience, silence scares them more. When leaders share the plan and its tradeoffs, trust rises. People step up when they know where the ship is headed and why.
Choose The Driver’s Seat
Uncertainty is permanent. The good news is so is your agency. You can pick your response. You can pick the speed. You can pick the story your team will tell later about this season. Will it be about drift, or about resolve?
This is not theory. I have seen companies recover from “shutdown shack” moments by moving first, telling the truth, and sticking to a few bold actions. I have also watched strong brands fade because leaders waited for a memo from the universe that never came.
Here is my challenge to you. This week, cut one drag that everyone knows is waste. Set one audacious but clear metric for the next 30 days. Call three customers and ask one brave question: “What did we stop doing that you miss?” Then act. Do it visibly. Do it now.
Leadership is not comfort. It is courage on a clock. You are already behind the wheel. Drive.
