The most expensive word in leadership isn't "no." It's "yes."
The hardest part of strategy isn't deciding what to do.
It's deciding what not to do.
Trump came into his second term with a clear domestic agenda. Tariffs. Immigration. Shrinking the government. Love it or hate it, there was a plan.
Then Iran's nuclear talks collapsed. And instead of walking away, he walked in.
What started as a "war of choice" (that's not my phrase, that's how foreign policy analysts are describing it) has now consumed his presidency. Gas past $4 a gallon. Approval at 39%. His own base turning on him. The Washington Post called it "one big own goal." His own aides told Axios he's "mostly improvising."
The domestic agenda that got him elected? Buried under a conflict that didn't need to happen.
This is not a political point. This is a management one.
We’ve all been there. An opportunity to make a change of direction to chase the money or go after a big client that’s slightly outside of what you normally do. It then ends up eating up all your time. Taking you away from what actually brings the money in. Sometimes you get away it, other times you’re like Trump with Iran. Screwed.
The things you say yes to that aren't part of your strategy don't just sit quietly alongside it. They compete with it. They consume the time, energy and focus that was supposed to go somewhere else. And before you know it, the plan you started with is something you used to talk about and you look back at the end of the year saying “oh yeah, I forgot we were going to do that.”
Your strategy is only as strong as your ability to say no. Even when the opportunity looks good. Especially when the opportunity looks good.
It's something I end up coming back to constantly with the leaders I work with. The plan was never the problem. The discipline to protect it was.
Have a great week,
Arran
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Arran Russell
Founder, Set The Tone
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