Let This Be The Thing You Depend On
The Most Common Answer to Every Question
Good morning! Here is what’s on tap for you today:
A bit of inspiration from something that bugs me.
My reading slump.
A service I offer (that you might not know about).
My friends and I have a hot sports opinion on Santa Barbara, California.
Thank you for subscribing!
Bottom Line Up Front: In a world where everything depends, great leaders don’t lead because they have perfect plans, they lead because they have faith.
“Um, it depends…”
When I ask participants a question during one of my workshops, “it depends” is the most common answer I hear.
When should you start delegating?
Should you defend your team to upper management, or hold them accountable?
Should you ask for help, or figure it out on your own?
Participants always answer: it depends.
As a facilitator and coach, that response used to bug me. It’s like an improv scene where someone says “no” instead of “yes, and.”
When I hear, “it depends,” I wonder if I asked the wrong question.
But I get it. Because it’s true.
In leadership, there are very few questions with just one right answer.
Most decisions depend on factors like:
Your current mental and emotional state
Your team’s trust in you
Cultural norms and team dynamics
Available data (and what’s missing)
Organizational priorities
It all depends.
And that reality can be unnerving.
When everything depends, what you want is to feel confident, calm, steady, and sure.
What you get is a nagging “did I lock the front door?” feeling while sitting at the airport.
Second-guessing. Uncertainty. Ambiguity. A twinge of paranoia.
In leadership, hindsight is 20/20.
Foresight? Usually a S.W.A.G. (Scientific Wild A** Guess).
→ Will your new marketing plan work? It depends.
→ Will that awkward conversation help? It depends.
→ Will a book help you? This email? A coaching session? It depends.
So, what should you do?
Have faith1.
No, not in the spiritual sense (though that’s good too). I’m talking about a belief that no matter what you face, you’ll figure it out.
→ You’ll never have all the facts.
→ You’ll rarely face the same situation twice.
→ You won’t be fully prepared for the next fire drill.
→ You have no clue what’s coming next.
That’s not pressure. That’s perspective.
Perfect plans don’t exist. What you need is faith.
Faith that no matter what shows up, you’ll figure it out.
Stop waiting for perfect plans — they don’t exist.
You don’t need more information. You need more faith.
Every leader worth following I’ve ever met had this trait: a quiet, consistent faith.
→ That we can do hard things.
→ That the team has what it takes.
→ That we’ll find a way.
As a former CPA, I can’t believe I’m writing this. I love a good plan. But real life doesn’t follow them.
Planning is priceless; plans are useless2.
Faith is what allows you to start moving forward.
In my experience, nothing inspires like faith that you can figure it out.
Not hype. Not charisma.
Just a leader saying, “We can do this.”
Next time you’re asking, “What’s the right answer here?” try this instead:
“What would I do if I believed we could handle this?”
Then take one step in that direction.
Let faith be the tool you depend on.
Use it. Share it. Lead with it.
I Read Books So You Don’t Have To…
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately. The last four or five books I’ve picked up haven’t been worth recommending.
But that’s changing.
Right now, I’m in the middle of three fantastic reads, and I can’t wait to share them with you in my next email.
Here’s a teaser: Marty McFly, Hercules, and Emotional Regulation.
Unrelated? Yes. Thought-provoking? Also yes.
Stay tuned.
Public Speaking Coaching That Gets Results
No skill has made a bigger impact on my professional life than public speaking. This fall, I’ve had the privilege of coaching two new clients as they prepared for high-stakes presentations—and both saw real results.
One client was gearing up to raise over $300 million for an investment fund and needed help refining his pitch deck and delivery. After we worked together, this is one piece of feedback he and his business partner received:
“You were great! The conversational approach was spot on and conveyed the depth of knowledge you have on the sector and the portfolio…the tone and pacing of your remarks were great.”
Another client was preparing a breakout session proposal for a major industry conference; an opportunity to gain serious visibility with future clients. After we finished, he emailed:
“I got it! Couldn’t have done it without you, brother!”
These engagements have been a blast, and more importantly, they’ve been genuinely helpful.
If you’ve got an important message to deliver and want to feel more confident, clear, and compelling, let’s talk. I’d love to help.
Finally…
My family and I saw Nate Bargatze this weekend. He deserves all the money he’s currently amassing.
Nate is also a great example of a “twenty year overnight success.” Keep grinding my friends.
To my GenX readers, are we aware that Nine Inch Nails recorded the soundtrack for a Disney film (Tron: Ares)? Are we okay with this?
We talked it over and decided, Santa Barbara, California does not suck.
Thanks for reading!
-Adam
R.I.P. George Michael
Shout out to Jim Collins’ Good to Great