Leadership gets real when the numbers stop going up.
It’s easy to be the hero when revenue is climbing, everyone’s excited, and your calendar’s packed with customer wins.
The real test? It shows up when the music stops. When what was working… doesn’t anymore. And you have to make the hard call.
Things Were on Fire — Until They Weren’t
I was working at a blockchain startup. We had a tight product offering, customers were coming in fast, and revenue exploded — zero to ten million in about 18 months.
Everyone thought we were going to the moon. I did too.
Then the market changed. Fast.
What looked like a rocket ship started turning into a crash landing. Revenue started falling off a cliff. What we had built wasn’t broken — but the environment we built it for had shifted.
We had two options:
Keep chasing what worked before and hope it came back…
Or pivot the business, knowing full well we’d take a massive revenue hit in the short term.
We pivoted.
Making the Call No One Wants to Make
We reworked the product strategy.
We turned away business that didn’t fit the new model.
We cut costs and restructured the team.
We made decisions that were painful — but necessary.
It wasn’t popular. And it sure wasn’t easy.
But I’ve always looked at business through a simple lens: This isn’t a human. It’s a system. It either runs efficiently and creates value — or it dies.
When you start making emotional decisions — protecting feelings, avoiding conflict, holding on to what “used to work” — you risk everything.
What This Taught Me About Leadership
Leadership is not about protecting comfort.
It’s about protecting the mission.
Most people think leadership is about inspiration. Some think it’s about vision.
And those things matter — but not if you can’t make decisions under pressure.
I’ve seen smart founders and execs stall their business out because they couldn’t pull the trigger when it counted.
They knew the product wasn’t working.
They knew the person in the seat wasn’t the right fit.
They knew the burn rate was a problem.
But they waited. And waited. And waited.
The delay is often more dangerous than the decision.
My Personal Rules for Making the Hard Calls
I don’t claim to have it all figured out. But after 35 years in this game, I’ve picked up a few rules that have kept me grounded when things get tough:
1. Business first, emotion second.
If you try to protect feelings over facts, you’ll kill the business you’re trying to save.
2. Stay clear on your value prop.
If you’re not solving a real problem for real customers, it’s time to rethink the model.
3. Know how the money works.
If you can’t clearly explain how you make money — and how that scales — you’re guessing, not leading.
You can care deeply about people and still make decisions that protect the business. In fact, I’d argue that’s the only way to keep everyone employed long term.
Founders and Executives: This Part Is For You
If you’re building something real, this moment will come.
You’ll be faced with a decision that puts your leadership to the test.
It’ll hurt. It won’t be popular.
But if you’re serious about staying in the game long-term, you’ll make the call anyway.
Because the real job? It’s not about being liked.
It’s about protecting the future of the business.
I’ve made hard calls that cost me money, sleep, and relationships — but I’d make them again in a second.
That’s the job. That’s leadership.