#105: Sovereignty Out of Survival.

“Sovereignty…will be increasingly anchored in the ability to withstand pressure.”
- Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, in a speech to the World Economic Forum on January 20, 2026

Earlier this week in Davos, Switzerland, Mark Carney gave remarks outlining new strategies for securing his nation’s physical and economic security in the context of the changing world order as he sees it. He spoke of collaboration and the need for new partnerships abroad, as well as tactical strategies that are being implemented domestically. The tenor of his message revealed a fundamental reexamination of the conditions that must be created to ensure his country’s survival. Of course, the land mass and people of Canada aren’t going anywhere, but he sees the survival of his nation as being predicated on its sovereignty.

I would argue that sovereignty is the excess capacity to withstand pressure.

A business in its ‘survival’ phase is not yet sovereign. Its ability to operate from a place of full self-determination (even through interdependence) is hampered by the need to allocate all its energy to simply staying alive. At this stage, staying alive in itself is withstanding pressure. Withstanding pressure is survival.

Building sovereignty is what follows—developing enough capacity to absorb pressure while choosing a direction.

This could mean building up a level of profitability before entering a more desirable market. Or making cold calls and purchasing advertising before having a referral network to expand organically.

Survival is a foundational process that can be trying and uncomfortable and taxing. It is a process. The only way out of it is through it. But even without the capacity and external resources available to make the journey easy, the seeds of lightness and delight from the smallest play are available from within.

Become the observer.

We should watch ourselves in the chaos and pressure as if to watch a movie. Notice the movie that is playing rather than being consumed by it.

The hairline crack of awareness is the place from which sovereignty starts to emerge.

Watching is the first step toward choosing.

……….

Owners who have survived and are ready to implement the next choice might consider a focused build session with me here.

#104: Over-Correcting.

Over-correcting. 

Learning that there is a better way to do, be, or think is a treasure, but not the precious kind. Holding this treasure too tightly tends to create harmful extremes.

Obsessive. Compulsive. Critical. Smothering. Short-sighted. Fearful.

Progress best serves when it’s allowed to help and goes no further.

#103: Growth as Life Practice

Growth as life practice.

Perspective matters. Growth for growth’s sake gives way to over- then underwhelm. Anti-climax after burnout and the ubiquitous wondering of the point of it all.

A growth mindset that respects the rhythms of life and is rooted in reverence for excellence and contribution rather than grasping is a whole different story.

Becoming familiar with the ways in which our contributions can become more and more excellent over time is a life practice. The ultimate growth hack.

#102: Displays.

Displays.

We can turn some of the drab or challenging gatherings (meetings) that are unavoidable in our work into opportunities for insightful–even piquant–observation.

If we must be there, we may as well have some fun and develop our skills of observation to unpack the complexity of the characters on display before us–as if to experience the interactions as members of an audience in front and center mezzanine seats.

A full view acknowledges the expressions we can see and envisions what might live below the surface. That is, personalities on exhibition–our own included. Fodder for imagination. Material to map out a whole scene.

We don’t presume to be right–it’s just fun to play.

#101: Interdependence.

At first glance, the concept seems to have limited applications–family life and global trade/geopolitics being, perhaps, the most obvious examples. But widening the frame offers a more enriching and profitable view when considering work life within professional services practices.

Natural hierarchies often obscure the opportunity to see beyond job descriptions. The tendency is to rely on permission structures and operating procedures in order to stay safe. Pervasive fear, apathy, stagnation, and muted work are the results.

In contrast, leaning in to the areas in which team members are encouraged and empowered to make decisions creates a form of kinetic interdependence throughout the organization. Knowing that others are depending on your best work because you own it and understand its importance raises the bar all around.

Getting to this point takes deliberate effort on the part of leaders to create an environment that reveals individual ways of thinking and designs safeguards that absorb and, thus, welcome failure.

The dividends of this investment present as a beautiful cascade: more interesting work at every level of the company → an engaged team that feels valued and trusted (often the most important factor for people) → far less turnover → work products that compound in quality and cohesion over time → clients that notice the difference and become more sticky even at high price points.

Interdependence

#100: Pop-Ups and Pilots

Pop-ups and pilots. The concept can exist in other forms. MVPs, betas, and trials. The point is that we stay active in a testing mindset and use it to make stuff, do stuff, and engage prior to perfection. Play.

This thinking should also apply to our day-to-day at work if we’re going to build the muscle for bigger things. Daily reflection on ways we are stuck can be helpful. Olly Richards asks himself each day:

“Where am I overthinking? What do I need to let go of?”

Join this discipline with curiosity to spur forward momentum.

#99: Untangling Yarn.

Untangling yarn. Have you ever tried to untangle a wad of yarn made up of several unraveled skeins?
​

The process is instructive.

Let’s choose one thread/color to represent our proverbial house (or business) and the act of freeing it represents our goal of creating order therein.

The first step in the process is to recognize that there are intertwined forces creating disorder (e.g., clutter, chaos, confusion) in our midst. And we should begin an exploration of those threads by choosing one and following (observing) it until there is resistance. Then gently create space—part the threads away from each other as if parting branches to peek through a bush.

Space at the resistance.

Space is key. It means to bring keen awareness to our struggles—observe them consciously in the moment for a time instead of continuing in our usual state of reactive oblivion. We create space between ourselves and the situation as if we are watching a movie of our own lives.

We start to see the situation more clearly and then gain a better sense of which way to go next.

Which thread needs observation now? Which bond (relationship or belief or habit or emotion) needs to be released?

What is surprising is that the last color to be untangled is often the most tightly intertwined. The most resistant and insidious. The strongest force holding us back.

My guess is that this force is related to fear or belief.

When there are only two left to tango, there are no other threads to distract, to blame. Things are clear. There are only two ways to go—become more bound or step closer and closer toward our vision.

All of this comes down to taking responsibility for the direction of our lives. It is a process with work and difficult choices but the end result is satisfying.

#98: U-Turns.

U-turns. A knee jerk reaction says no and then there is a pause.

The pause gives time for consideration and an opportunity for wisdom to settle in.

An honest mulling of the question “why not?” turns around the answer to yes after compelling visions begin to surface of buoyant possibilities. Now, “no” feels confining—boring even.

This isn’t always the path so we lean on wisdom, which is quite the shepherd if given the chance.

#97: Ways of Communication.

Ways of communication. As an extended study on widening the frame, plants offer an illuminating case.

Spoken, written, musical, non-verbal.

Non-verbal communication is not foreign to humans. We rely on it heavily, in fact. Its powers make the case for keeping things IRL when it matters.

But even our frame for the concept of non-verbal communication is limited. Gestures, facial expressions, postures, and the hard-to-explain (intuition?).

If we expand the frame beyond counting on two hands the forms with which we are familiar, we might ask, “What combinations of energy and matter bind with intelligence to bring about communication?”

Plants live in community and, as such, have ingenious ways of communicating. Zoë Schlanger, author of the book The Light Eaters, explains one example.
​

“The primary way plants communicate with each other is through a language, so to speak, of chemical gasses. ... And there's little pores on plants that are microscopic. And under the microscope, they look like little fish lips. ... And they open to release these gasses. And those gasses contain information. So when a plant is being eaten or knocked over by an animal or hit by wind too hard, it will release an alarm call that other plants in the area can pick up on. And this alarm call can travel pretty long distances, and the plants that receive it will prime their immune systems and their defense systems to be ready for this invasion, for this group of chewing animals before they even arrive. So it's a way of saving themselves, and it makes evolutionary sense. If you're a plant, you don't want to be standing out in a field alone, so to speak. It's not good for reproductive fitness. It's not good for attracting pollinators. It's often in the interest of plants to warn their neighbors of attacks like this.”

​
Communication is facilitation and its means are as diverse as its needs.

#96: Questions and Frames.

Questions and frames. We often don’t consider that we’ve framed the question with implicit limitations.

The frame itself seems fixed until another question, the right question, widens the aperture.

Seeking probing, reflective, uncomfortable, wild, stretching, challenging, and energizing questions can widen or completely change the frame.

And with the right question and a new frame, the possibilities explode.

#95: Skillful Means.

Skillful means. Access to it requires presence and temperance at the very times when they feel most illusive.

At the beginning of a practice of looking for skillful means in our interactions, we may feel that we are allowing disregard for our own needs and desires. That we employ temperance in the service of others but at our own expense.

Then we realize that the presence we bring to situations shifts our orientation to that of an observer. And with the eyes of an observer, we see the suffering in our midst. The troublemakers are troubled.

Suddenly, our skillful means feels like a superpower. A tool to shift dynamics at will.

With practice, a tool for change.

#95: Psychological Premise.

Psychological premise. How would you define it for the thing you’re in? Your industry?

For example, in financial services they will tell you that markets run on fear and greed.

Then it’s no wonder that the industry built up to facilitate markets (including that of ancillary service providers) is rife with fear and greed. Even in the work lives of the people who are far removed from the action. It’s like the circulatory system; it touches every part of the organization.

The psychological premise isn’t always broadcasted or obvious, especially because it is often in conflict with stated corporate values.

But once we’ve figure out what’s really going on, we can become the observer and use skillful means to navigate our world with clarity.

#94: Worthy Distractions.

Worthy distractions. Tuning out of one channel in order to receive a clear signal from another.

Sometimes, it’s necessary. And proper design creates slack to accommodate the moments in life when we need to exhale deeply.

May our work serve to give us space to live.

#93: Accepting Magic.

Accepting magic. First, let’s define magic. In this instance, it is just the thing we need that we had no idea we needed and its arrival is a delight.

The conditions leading up to its arrival, however, may be fraught.

For example, meticulous plans may blow up in smoke at the hand of one important variable that is completely out of our control (think: weather or accidents). Situations like this call for surrender and openness to see an alternate path forward.

This kind of magic can only reveal itself when we accept the ‘isness’ of the moment and look for a guiding hand—a mix of wisdom and play.

In times like this, we end up saying things like, “it couldn’t have turned out more perfectly!”

#92: Regular Rain.

Regular rain. They say that the roads are slickest when it first starts to rain. Especially when it hasn’t rained in a while. It’s because there is no rain to wash away oil, grease, and sediment that builds up from vehicles on the road.

An apropos set of circumstances that parallels the chaos of new challenges when we’ve been coasting for a while. It’s disorienting because the tension that sharpens us has been absent and we’ve got to catch up.

Regular rain keeps up sharp and dispels the expectation that a smooth road will always yield a smooth ride.

#91: Reboot.

Reboot. It’s not just for computers but they help make the point. Here’s what Google says about it:

“Regularly restarting a computer can help it run more smoothly, save time, and fix urgent issues…Being restarted on a more consistent basis will keep it running optimally over time.”

We’ve all heard this as the first troubleshooting instruction and experienced its truth.

And then we get stuck trying to troubleshoot on ourselves when we’ve hit a wall.

The key questions are:

What does a reset mean for me?
Where are my blind spots?
Where do I need to be more honest?
Where do I need to have more courage?
Where do I need grace?
What do I need to put into motion in order to reset more often?

Let the answers lead the way.

#90: Beyond Models.

Beyond models. They rely on theories and can be wonderfully useful as a way to engage amidst the fog. But they are a form of experimentation.

Instead, insight into the true nature of things offers a path for developing practices that move the needle.

It’s as if a deep look at reality clears the fog to reveal the way forward.

Effective progress as a derivative of the right kind of knowledge.

#89: Space for the Crash.

Space for the crash. There are times when the benefits of observing rhythm are clear.

In economics, it’s called the business cycle.

In water, there are tides. On land (and at sea), there are seasons.

In humans, there is the ebb and flow of hormones. The list goes on.

These rhythms are instructive. They teach us how to make decisions and organize our lives. They show us when to push and when to retreat.

And when we are attuned to the function of rhythm, it can help us make sense of things when we’ve gone off track.

When we have grand plans of accomplishment and are hit by a wave of exhaustion that stops us in our tracks, our understanding of rhythm reminds us that there are forces at work beyond our ambition that shape things and demand our attention. We are reminded to create space for rest and reorganize around health-giving choices.

In business, this may mean annually pruning our menu of services to focus on the handful with the most impact and profit.

Pursue that which nourishes us and delights those we serve. Sunset the rest.

#88: The Power of Anticipation.

The power of anticipation. It can be disorienting. It’s the waiting and uncertainty that create an opening for seeds of suffering to bear fruit.

Our fears and insecurities fuel the imagination and generate emotions that then boost all kinds of chemicals in our bodies that undermine calm and ease.

A world of “what ifs.”

The point is that the work becomes exposed. Or maybe it willingly reveals itself.

“Here I am,” it says. “Shall we begin?”

The work may be to challenge long-held beliefs and assumptions, or it may be to develop resolve and a process to chip away at a set of obstacles.

Whatever it is, let us stop and look at this opportunity earnestly; and take on the challenge to shed what has put us off balance. Right here and now. Before the waiting ends.

So that our peace does not depend on what is to come.

#87: Force in the Beginning.

Force in the beginning. We can clearly see the excess force when watching someone learn to jumprope or swim.

Before rhythm and coordination are achieved, and the assistance of physics is discovered, we get through with brute force in the absence of skill.

Repetition and persistence reveal more and more information that conserves energy, extends distance, and brings forth elegance.

The elegance of a skilled and dedicated professional mid-stride is something to behold.