This year, America turns 250. This blog odometer turns 1900. One is the celebration of a nation. The other is a collection of thoughts, observations, lessons, mistakes, questions, and truths gathered one day at a time.
Both have something in common. They were built slowly. One conversation, one lesson, one day at a time.
When I started writing these blogs, I didn’t know where they would lead. I just knew I had something to say and a goal to hit one thousand based on Seth Godin’s challenge.
1900 posts later, and one thing has become abundantly clear:
The biggest opportunities in our lives and organizations are usually hiding inside the things we’d rather avoid. That’s certainly been reinforced this year with the release of my most recent book: Issues: Remove Friction, Fast-Track Your Growth, and Ignite Your Greatness. I can tell you I definitely find myself noticing patterns everywhere.
Not because people are lacking or broken, it’s because people are human. If you’re growing, issues are normal. For me, it begs the questions: will you become who you need to be to solve the issues? Or will you let the issues determine what’s possible for you?
Here are ten things I’m learning, relearning, and seeing more clearly than ever:
- The issue is rarely unknown. Most leaders already know. The challenge isn’t awareness. It’s willingness. The issue is often sitting quietly in the room waiting for someone brave enough to name it.
- Friction is feedback. That recurring frustration? That stalled project? That conversation you keep postponing? They’re not inconveniences. They’re stuck energy that’s an anchor to growth. Friction is trying to teach us something.
- Symptoms are noisy. Issues are quiet. Most of us spend our time treating symptoms. The best leaders learn to look underneath. The issue beneath the symptoms is almost always where the real work begins.
- Accountability is an act of care. Somewhere along the way, accountability has gotten a bad reputation. The healthiest teams understand something different. Accountability isn’t punishment. It’s respect. It’s clarity. Those who shy away from it may be helping, but they’re not leading.
- Avoidance compounds interest. The issue you avoid today will charge interest tomorrow. And it never sends a warning notice.
- The truth usually sets people free. Not immediately. Sometimes it stings. Sometimes it disrupts. But eventually, clarity creates freedom.
- Growth is a capacity problem. Many people think they need more time. Most need more capacity. More clarity. More focus. More willingness to let go to grow – personally and professionally.
- Great teams tell the truth faster. Not perfectly. Not elegantly. Just sooner. Speed matters.
- Solved issues release energy. This may be my favorite lesson. Every unresolved issue consumes energy. Every solved issue releases it. It’s like taking your foot off the brake and wondering why the car suddenly moves faster.
- Greatness isn’t added. It’s uncovered. Most organizations don’t need more motivation. They need more focus and less friction. Less drag. Less noise. Less energy wasted on things that don’t move the needle. Remove what’s in the way, and greatness has room to breathe.
As America celebrates 250 years, I’m reminded that progress is rarely dramatic. It’s cumulative. It’s imperfect. It’s built by people willing to confront reality, learn from it, and move forward anyway. People willing to abandon what isn’t working, adapt in real time to do what they said they would do when it matters most.
The same is true for our country. The same is true for our companies. The same is true for leadership. The same is true for life. We would not be here without the lives given in service of the dream bigger than themselves.
1900 blogs later, I believe that more than ever.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for thinking with me. Thank you for challenging me. And thank you for continuing to do the hard work of becoming a little clearer, a little braver, and a little better every day.
Now I’ll leave you with one question: If you think about the issues in your life or your business, what’s been unresolved and stuck for some time on the issues list that it’s finally time to solve?
Because the next chapter of your life, your leadership, your company, and your impact may be waiting on the other side of that answer.
Here’s to the next conversation. And the next issue worth solving.