The distraction causes the problem that justifies more distraction. That’s the trap.
We set targets every quarter. We build the plan. We align the team. Then an opportunity lands and we pivot. The whole team shifts to the new thing. This happens constantly. Customers, product ideas, partnerships. Monday we’re on the plan, Friday the whole team is somewhere else.
This is a leadership problem. We chase the shiny thing because growth is slow. But growth is slow because we never commit to the plan long enough to see if it works. We abandon the model before it has time to prove itself. Then we look at the numbers, see no progress, and grab at the next opportunity.
Every pivot feels rational in the moment. We’re a startup. We have to be flexible. This could be huge. But underneath all of that is desperation. And desperation makes us abandon the fundamentals for anything that looks like progress.
The opportunity cost is brutal. Not just the targets we miss — the clarity we lose. The team stops believing in plans. The vision gets muddied. Nobody can explain what the company actually does because it changes every quarter.
We have to protect the plan. We have to say no to 80% of what lands. We have to commit to the business model long enough to know if it works.
Otherwise we’re just running in circles, wondering why we’re not getting anywhere.