Creating focus: motorcycle helmets & hard decisions
In my early 30s, I took six months off and went to Bali.
One afternoon, I watched a fisherman navigating rocks near the shore. What seemed strange to me was that he was wearing a shiny old motorcycle helmet. It was one of those metallic silver helmets popular in the seventies.
I sat there, puzzled. “Why does the fisherman wear a motorcycle helmet?”
After about an hour, a waiter pointed out the obvious: He wore it so he wouldn’t smash his head on the rocks.
Simple. Practical. Effective.
The solution wasn’t complicated. It just required stepping back long enough to see it.
Business is no different.
The Real Growth Problem
Most founders don’t lack ambition. They lack focus.
You set revenue targets. You launch initiatives. You push harder.
And slowly:
• 9 priorities become 14
• Meetings multiply
• Projects stall
• Decisions circle
• Everything still routes through you
You tell yourself this is just “growth.” But it isn’t.
It’s fragmentation. And fragmentation feels like progress—until it starts costing you.
You begin resenting the business you once loved. Your leadership team waits for direction. Margins tighten. Momentum slows.
You’re busy. But you’re not scaling.
The Hard Truth
You cannot add your way to clarity. You can only subtract your way to it.
Every new priority is a tax on leadership. Every initiative you refuse to kill drains execution from the ones that matter.
If everything is important, nothing scales.
The Addition–Subtraction Method
Here’s a reset you can use this week.
1. Define What Success Actually Means This Year
If we look back 12 months from now, what must have happened for this year to be a win?
Be specific:
• Revenue?
• Margin?
• Leadership depth?
• Exit readiness?
• Time freedom?
Now add one constraint:
You cannot add more. You can only replace.
That rule forces discipline.
2. Decide What Must Be Eliminated
Audit your time, money, and leadership energy.
Then ask: “What are we doing right now that guarantees a mediocre year?”
Be honest.
• Too many initiatives?
• Founder bottlenecks?
• Meetings with no ownership?
• Systems purchased but not used?
• Leaders reporting instead of improving?
You cannot create focus without elimination.
3. Run the “Movie Test”
Imagine your business is a movie. You’re in the audience watching it unfold.
What would people be screaming at the screen?
• “Stop doing everything yourself.”
• “Make a decision.”
• “Fix the leadership gap.”
• “Choose one priority and commit.”
Distance creates clarity.
The answer is usually obvious. We just avoid it.
The Cost of Getting This Wrong
Every goal has a trade-off.
More revenue may mean:
• More stress
• More complexity
• More operational strain
Growth without systems creates exhaustion. Growth with focus creates scale.
There’s a difference.
What Strong Leaders Actually Do
The best leaders I work with don’t chase more. They pause.
Every 90 days, they ask: “What matters most right now?”
Then they align:
• Strategy
• Leadership
• Operations
• People
Around that one priority.
And they eliminate the rest. Not reduce. Eliminate.
That’s the helmet.
A Question For You
If nothing new were added next year…
And you simply doubled down on what truly drives growth…
What would that be?
You probably already know. The discipline is acting on it.
Until next time—keep it simple.
Want Help Getting Clear?
Most founders don’t need more ideas.
They need structured clarity.
If you’re scaling between $1M and $10M and feel:
• Overextended
• Too involved in day-to-day decisions
• Frustrated by stalled initiatives
• Unsure what to prioritize next
We built NimblScale to fix exactly that.
We help founders:
• Align strategy with execution
• Build leadership accountability
• Install systems that reduce founder dependency
• Create focus without killing momentum
If you’d like a 15-minute clarity call to identify what to subtract and what to double down on, reply to this email or book time here.
