I “improved” something that was working

Hello {{ first_name }},

I love this time of year. Part of it is the weather starting to shift and the leaves starting to change. Mostly, though, it’s the space it opens up between what we’ve already accomplished this year and the runway to what we want to make happen before it ends.

Today marks 100 days left in the year.

That’s enough time to keep going on the path you’ve paved. If you’re on a great run, keep doing what you’re doing. It’s also enough time to make some changes. You can finish the year strong, or reinvent in time for the new year.

This year didn’t go the way I planned

I always start the year with high hopes. What kind of experiences am I going to have? What kind of experiences am I going to create for others?

It hardly ever looks exactly the way I envisioned. Some things don’t happen. I promised myself I’d build the marketing machine by being more visible which has been incremental at best.

Others far exceed what I could have imagined. Getting a puppy after our sweet Westie, Lyle, passed away has brought us so much joy and entertainment, I can hardly stand it.

I’m grateful for all of them.

But this year, more than most, hasn’t gone the way I planned. That’s not a bad thing. It’s not a good thing. It’s just not what I anticipated.

Admittedly, I’m a planner and I am unraveling that in my own growth journey. I’ve had years where the entire year has been booked and mostly scheduled by January. This year I intentionally built in space for new to emerge, and apparently for some curveballs, including one I pitched to myself.

I “improved” a product that was working. The “improved” model hasn’t work at all.

I learned offering a new version of a service clients were already investing creates confusion and breaks a business model that wasn’t broken. I was focused on “better” being different instead of continuing to make the current experience better.

That happens in life and in business. So rather than complain about it, I’m contemplating the value of it all and what needs to be adjusted.

I always like to win the year. If you’ve spent any time with me, though, you know that winning your way is about deciding what success looks like for you now, in this moment. So I’ve been sitting with it: How do I want to win the year in these 100 days?

In some ways it feels like a completely clean slate. I find that energizing.

If the scorecard looks thin right now

I’m working on this same shift with some of my clients right now. Admittedly, they’re feeling worn out by the year. Bringing people along through growth cycles is taxing and the middle muck especially requires extra energy. For some, that’s right now.

Look, there are lots of valid reasons this stretch can feel heavy and taxing. The scorecard might not show many wins yet. What I’m inviting them to do, and you, and myself, is to use these 100 days to reframe the year and the runway ahead so we have a way to celebrate:

•       What was accomplished

•       What was learned

•       What was applied

The six questions shaping my next 100 days

These are the questions shaping what my next 100 days are about, what they look like, and what wins I’ll celebrate at the end of the year. Don’t answer all six. Pick the one that makes you pause.

1. What really matters to you right now?

How is it showing up in your life? What would have to be different so it was evident to you that what matters most is also getting your time, your energy, your focus and attention? We have evolving family needs that butt up against my preferred working hours. I am choosing to be more flexible in scheduling my days away from home because what matters most is that I’m home and available for family.

2. If whatever you’re measuring your success against could no longer be the measurement, what would tell you this year was a success?

3. What have you started and stopped this year that you really care about?

What are you willing to commit to in the next 100 days that will make it a habit? New behaviors take about 66 days on average to become automatic, so by the new year, it can be part of who you are rather than something you’re forcing.

4. Where are you being asked to lead in your life right now?

In what ways are you doing it, and what’s getting in your way from next level leading?

5. What do you want to create in the next 100 days that can be carried into 2027?

I have regretted pausing the Champions of RISK podcast since I 10Xed it out of the business so this is the runway to relaunch it with new episodes for the new year.  

6. What do you want to quit in the next 100 days so it no longer exists by 2027?

Here’s mine. I was going to research what’s been accomplished in 100 days: what people built, what changed, what records fell. Then I realized that’s comparison.

Far too often, I’m in compare mode. That’s what I’m quitting.

So instead, I looked at what happens in our bodies over 100 days, and it was fascinating. My favorite: in one study, more than twice as many people discovered a hidden shortcut in a problem after sleeping on it. That means you have 100 nights of free overnight consulting ahead of you. (The others I found are over on Instagram).

Your phase one

Last week I said 100 days is enough time for a phase one of your own. Here’s what I meant.

You don’t need to overhaul the whole year. Pick one question. That’s your phase one. Tonight, write it down before bed and let those 100 nights of consulting get to work. Get a result you can feel, and the next step will show up on its own.

Same goes for your pipeline. What’s the one revenue habit that, if it were automatic by New Year’s Eve, would change how 2027 starts?

Hit reply and tell me

Which of the six made you pause, and what’s your answer?

Win your way,


Michael