The Golden Thread

business design // leadership // strategy // systems

No tBOJ episode this week, but I've got some new toys to share below. We'll be back on again next Wed (5/7)!

Finding Truthtellers

Treat me like someone whose success depends on hearing the truth.

Because it damn sure does.

You may or may not believe in it as strongly as I do.
But you’d agree it’s more true than not, right?

I’m not just talking to founders who flinch at tough feedback.

I’m more talking to the founder who hasn’t realized yet they should demand it.
It should be the standard.

You hire your advisors and coaches to expose your blindspots, not massage them.
If they can’t look you in the eye and call you on your shit,
They’re not in it with you, they’re joyriding.
And it will bite you at some point.

If you don’t have someone who fills that truthtelling advisory role?
Start looking now.
And you can use this while you’re looking:
My #1 criteria when I’m interviewing for my own advisors: how honest will they be with me?
Because if they aren’t gonna get uncomfortable with me, they do more harm than good.

Make no mistake here...
I don’t get joy from giving someone uncomfortable feedback. It’s hard work.
But I get joy from telling them something they need to know.
And I get joy knowing I’m one of the very few who willing and able to tell them.

People like to say “I can’t do difficult conversations. I care too much.”

I call bullshit.
The problem is they don’t care ENOUGH.
They won’t do it because it’s too hard for THEM.

It shouldn’t be about them. It should be about you.

And Coaches, the market just moved.
Alex Friedman's ChatGPT prompt, “Be my brutally honest, high-level advisor”?
It didn’t blow up because people love AI sass.
It blew up because too many human advisors won't do it.

If a bot can tell a CEO the hard thing that you won’t...

There's another job AI is coming for.

Alex's prompt is in my original post on LinkedIn.

📈 Where Are You on the Business Owner’s Journey?

Every owner travels the same five milestones, from Sales Engine survival mode to Legacy Builder freedom. I’ve laid them out (with typical traps and challenges, solutions, and stories) in a new quick-read post:

👉🏻 Read “The 5 Stages of the Business Owner’s Journey”

But don’t just guess your stage - measure it. Our free Business Alignment Checkup pinpoints your current stage, shows your biggest bottleneck, and emails you a personalized Growth Profile and 90-day Roadmap within about 5 minutes. You will be impressed.

👉🏻 Take the Business Alignment Checkup (6 min or less)

Use both together: I would do the Checkup first, then skim the article for more context.