LBW: Want your team to change? You first.

TLDR: Your company initiatives are failing because you (yes, YOU) aren’t following them. Ask me how I know.

2015: I went full Tony Robbins.

• Dropped $$$ on leadership programs and exec education

• Filled notebooks with “game-changing” frameworks

• Bought enough business books to start a library

• Almost got a “hustle harder” tattoo (kidding... maybe)

My company, Momentum, was scaling fast. $4M → $35M.

But here’s the thing about scaling...

It’s like trying to build a plane while flying it. Except I was the pilot telling everyone else to follow the manual while freestyling my own moves

The Leadership Trap

Quick story time:

Me in meetings: “Guys, we NEED systems and processes!” Also me: hasn’t updated my scorecard in 3 weeks

Me to team: “No phones in Level 10 meetings!” Also me: sending emails under the table like a high schooler texting in math class

Me on processes: “Follow the system!” Also me: “But this deal is different...”

Notice a pattern?

Rules Don’t Apply To Me

Know what happens when the founder plays by different rules?

• Trust dies faster than my New Year’s resolutions

• Eye rolls become an Olympic sport

• “Yes boss” becomes code for “whatever you say, buddy”

• New initiatives are treated like crypto in 2024

The Numbers Don’t Lie

In departments where we actually followed the system:

• Project completion: ⬆️ 40%

• Chaos: ⬇️ 80%

• Hair pulling: ⬇️ 90%

But because I kept making “founder exceptions,” we couldn’t scale it.

The Wake-Up Call

Every Monday at 10am, L10 time. The rules were crystal clear:

• No phones

• To-dos completed

• Scorecard updated

• Issues list prepped

Me at 10:07am, typing on my phone: “Sorry team, client emergency. Keep going, I’m listening...”

Until one Monday my Integrator just stood up: “Let’s cancel today. We’ll restart when you’re ready to play by your own rules.”

The Fix

Want your company to actually change?

• Do the thing

• Keep doing the thing

• No “special founder circumstances”

• Seriously, just keep doing the thing

That’s it. That’s the newsletter.

When I finally started eating my own dog food

• Meetings got shorter

• Decisions got faster

• Problems got solved

• My blood pressure dropped

The Bottom Line

Stop being the “rules for thee but not for me” founder. (Trust me, your team already has a group chat about it)

Keep it real,

Sid

P.S. I still have those 2015 notebooks. They’re great for propping up my monitor. At least they’re supporting something.

Know a leader who preaches process but plays by different rules? Forward this email. Their team already has a group chat about it.

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