The Four System Failures That Make Smart Marketing Leaders Do Dumb Things
Companies don’t stall because their marketing is bad, they stall because their system is misaligned. Misread ROAS, shiny‑object chasing, misapplied expertise, and cost‑center thinking are symptoms of a deeper structural problem. Here’s what’s actually breaking your marketing decisions.
Taking Control of Your Agency: Decisions, Habits, and the Levers You Actually Control
One idea keeps surfacing: build your plans around the agency you actually have. This blog explores how effectuation, the Serenity Prayer, and strategic habit design can help founders and teams navigate uncertainty without burning out. It’s not about controlling the future; it’s about knowing how to respond when it changes.
The Agency Problem: When Agent Relationships Aren’t Working
Why Your Team Isn’t Growing, Even When Everyone’s “Doing Their Job”
In modern organizations, misalignment isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like quiet compliance, polished metrics, or well-dressed meetings that go nowhere. At the heart of this dysfunction is the agency problem: when agents (leaders, employees, vendors) optimize for their own comfort or success instead of the principal’s goals. Whether you're a CEO, founder, or team lead, understanding this breakdown is critical to restoring momentum, trust, and growth.
This post explores the classic principal-agent dilemma through a modern lens, diagnosing misaligned agency incentives across teams, vendors, and leadership, and offering actionable strategies to realign your organization around impact.