A few years ago, I began working one-on-one with a coach because I felt like I wasn’t getting the traction I was hoping for in my company. I wanted clearer direction and more certainty around the best next steps.

What surprised me was how rarely she actually told me what to do.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how stories travel.

What gets amplified.
What gets framed.
What quietly disappears.

As an agency owner, I live in a world shaped by narrative. I know how much power lies in visibility. I know that attention is currency. I know that what people see becomes what they believe matters.

On someone’s very first day at Pivota, we tell them something most companies avoid saying out loud: 

You will make mistakes here. 

You’ll make a few small ones and probably a few big ones too. That isn’t a failure. That’s reality.

How many dominos do you think it would take to knock over the Empire State Building?

Pause for a second and pick a number. Don’t scroll until you have a number in mind. I promise this makes the exercise so much more rewarding.

I’ve been in two situations where people have been asked this. Some said thousands, millions, others said zero as if it was not possible.

This time of year usually comes with a familiar pressure to add more.

New goals. New routines. New commitments. New plans for how we will finally do everything better.

But lately, I’ve been thinking about a different approach. What if growth this year is not about adding anything at all?

What if it is about taking more away.

One of the hardest hiring lessons to learn is this: talent alone is not enough.

On paper, someone can check every box. The portfolio, the certifications, the confidence in their abilities. You look at their experience and think, “finally, someone who can take this off my plate”. But then the work begins, and you realize something much more important is missing.

Values.