In 2025 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞, and I had to make a call.

 I didn't have enough information. Janelle was in the same building. Whatever I decided, we both lived with it.

Seventy hours.

 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

 After time in the NZ Army and Police, you learn the information never arrives. In business it's quieter: the underperformer nobody's addressed, the hire nobody's made. Everyone knows. Nobody moves.

Waiting is a decision. Usually the worst one available.

Your gut is the first thing pressure takes from you. In that room, adrenaline was telling me things that weren't true.

That's what 𝐁.𝐑.𝐀.𝐈.𝐍. is for.

𝐁 — 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬. What do we actually gain? Not what it feels like we gain.

 𝐑 — 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬.  What's the real downside, and can we live with it? Under pressure we inflate some risks and go blind to others.

𝐀 — 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.  There's almost always a third option. Fear hides it.

𝐈 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.  Is your gut reading the situation, or your adrenaline?

𝐍 — 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.  What if we don't act yet? Waiting has to be chosen, not defaulted into.

 You don't need better instincts. You need a process you trust more than your instincts.

 Janelle held her nerve better than I did. That's not a personality trait. It's a decision, made repeatedly.

Leadership isn't tested in the good quarter. It's tested when the information runs out and people are looking at you.

That's the talk — 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩..

Pete O'Keeffe — NZ Growth Coach, Kāpiti Coast

Simple Strategies, for Serious Business Leaders, who want Solid Resul