Happy New Year Reader

As you embark on this new year, I want you to start with stillness.

This might sound strange to start the year off with, but hear me out.

Everyone's always go-go-go. New year, new me, new goals, new ways of approaching things, new branches to be created. The list goes on and on.

When everyone's in that motion, it is very easy for you to get caught up in it.

Which is why I want you to do the opposite: I want you to lean into stillness.

Lead From the Inside Out

What does that actually mean?

It means you stop letting your calendar dictate your priorities and start letting your priorities dictate your calendar.

It means you stop reacting to whoever shouts loudest and start acting on what actually moves the needle.

It means the decisions you make come from a place of clarity about what matters, not panic about what's urgent.

Most leaders I work with are leading from the outside in. The market pressures them, so they pressure their team. Their board asks questions, so they ask the same questions down the line. Someone complains, so they fix it.

They're playing defense with their entire leadership.

Leading from the inside out means you know what you're building before the pressure hits. You know what you stand for before the crisis forces you to choose. You know who you're becoming before the role demands it.

That clarity? It only comes from stillness.

It's an approach I've used personally in my personal and professional life. I'm currently on a break with my wife where every year we carve out time to think, plan, pray, and reflect on our marriage, work, parenting, goals, faith. Everything.

I've also shared this approach with my clients, and it's been absolutely transformational for them, even though they found it uncomfortable at first.

That's why I wanted to kick off this year's newsletter by sharing it.

The Cost Of Never Stopping

Let me tell you what happens when you don't build stillness into your leadership.

You make decisions based on incomplete information because you didn't have time to think it through.

You miss the early signals of a market shift because you were too busy firefighting to notice the pattern.

You promote the wrong person because you went with your gut in the hallway instead of actually thinking about what the role needs.

You greenlight a strategy that sounds good in the meeting but falls apart six months later because nobody, including you, stress-tested the assumptions.

I watched a CEO lose his job over this exact thing.

He was running a company doing $300 million in revenue. Smart guy. Hardworking. Respected. But he never stopped.

Every decision was made in motion. Every strategy was reactive. Every conversation was transactional.

When the board asked him about the company's three-year direction, he didn't have an answer. Not because he wasn't capable. But because he'd never created the space to actually think about it.

He could tell you what was happening this quarter. He couldn't tell you where the company was going.

The board replaced him with someone who could.

That's the cost. Not burnout. Not stress. Irrelevance.

What Your Brain Actually Needs

Here's what's happening when you never stop.

Your brain has two modes. There's the mode where you're reacting, responding, putting out fires. That's useful. You need it.

But there's another mode. The mode where your brain actually makes connections. Where you see patterns. Where you have insights that change how you think about a problem.

That second mode? It only activates when you're not doing anything.

Scientists call it the default mode network, but forget the fancy name. Here's what matters: this is where strategic thinking happens.

When you're constantly busy, your brain literally cannot access this mode.

You're stuck in reactive mode and reactive mode is terrible at strategy.

Think about the last time you had a real insight about your business. I'm willing to bet it wasn't in a meeting. It was probably in the shower. Or on a walk. Or sitting quietly with your coffee before everyone else woke up.

That wasn't an accident. That was your brain finally getting the space it needed to actually think.

The Leader Who Made Stillness Non-Negotiable

Jeff Weiner, former CEO of LinkedIn, built what he called "buffer time" into his calendar, sometimes up to two hours per day of nothing.

No meetings, no calls, just thinking time.

He admitted it felt uncomfortable at first, almost irresponsible when everyone else was grinding.

But he credits this practice with helping him navigate LinkedIn's growth and eventual $26 billion acquisition by Microsoft.

While his competitors were reacting, he was thinking. While they were busy, he was strategic.

He wasn't being lazy. He was being a leader.

The Practice That Changes Everything

Here's how you make stillness a habit: You don't just do it one time. You do it repeatedly.

You create time in your diary intentionally where you say, "This is my period for stillness."

For some people, it might be 10 minutes. Some people might need 30 minutes.

But you carve out that time in your diary.

If you have an executive assistant, tell them: "Block this time out for me and protect it like you would protect a board meeting."

I used to do it at the start of the week, midweek, and end of week. I still do. And I've done it with other clients as well, especially CEOs running $400-500 million companies.

They've told me it's the most valuable time in their week. Not because it feels good. Because it makes them better.

The Three Questions That Actually Matter

Block time three times a week. Monday. Wednesday. Friday.

Here's what you do in that time:

Monday: The Assumption Question

"What assumption am I operating on right now that I haven't stress-tested?"

You're making decisions based on beliefs about your market, your team, your competition. Some of those beliefs are outdated. Some are just wrong.

This question forces you to examine them before they cost you.

Wednesday: The Signal Question

"What signal am I dismissing because it's inconvenient or uncomfortable?"

Your best people are frustrated. Your customers are saying something you don't want to hear. Your data is showing a trend you're hoping will reverse.

You know the signals. You're just ignoring them because dealing with them is hard.

This question makes you face them.

Friday: The Blindspot Question

"What pattern did I just live this week that's working against what I say I want?"

You say you want to develop your team, but you solved every problem yourself this week.

You say innovation matters, but you shut down three ideas because they felt risky.

You say people are your priority, but you haven't had a real conversation with anyone on your team in two weeks.

This question shows you the gap between your stated values and your actual behaviour.

The Leaders Who Shape Their Industry

Here's what I've learned working with leaders at the highest levels.

The ones who survive are reactive. They respond to what's happening. They put out fires. They manage crises.

The ones who shape their industry are different. They see what's coming before anyone else does. They make moves that seem obvious in hindsight but were invisible to everyone else at the time.

The difference isn't intelligence. It's not even strategy.

It's stillness.

They've created the space to think. To see patterns. To question assumptions. To test their own thinking before the market tests it for them.

They're not busier than you. They're clearer than you.

And clarity only comes from stillness.

Your Work This Week

Block 20-30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Protect it. Actually protect it.

Use the questions. Write down what comes up. Don't perform thinking. Actually think.

And here's my challenge to you: If you can't find 60 minutes in your week for strategic thinking, you're not leading. You're managing. And there's a massive difference.

The question isn't whether you have time for stillness.

The question is whether you can afford not to.

Four Questions:

• What decision did I rush last year that I'm still paying for now?
• If I'm honest, how much of my week is spent reacting versus actually leading?
• What would I see about my business if I gave myself permission to actually look instead of just moving?
• What's the cost to my company if I spend another year busy instead of strategic?

Here's what I've noticed: most leaders can answer these questions. Few actually change the pattern.

If you're reading this and thinking "I need someone to help me see what I can't see," that's the work I do. I have a handful of slots open in 2026 for executives who want clarity, not cheerleading.

If that sounds like what you need, reach out. Let's talk and 📩 see if we're a fit 📩

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