Fast Decisions in Entrepreneurship · For the leadership team
What stops you
going up.
The mountain takes away your ability to not decide. A weather window closes; a turnaround time hits; the Grand Couloir doesn't wait.
Your job back home does the opposite — it lets you postpone the decision forever and call the postponement "work." Each of us has one move that feels like climbing but is really just staying at base camp.
Read the cards below. Don't look for the one that describes your job — look for the one that stings. That's yours. The question at the bottom of each is the only homework: answer it honestly, to yourself.
Which one is you?
The Engineer / Builder
What stops youKeeps building — more code, more tooling, more engineers — because shipping feels unsafe. Prep masquerades as progress.
On the mountainEndlessly perfecting kit and re-planning the route at base camp. The gear is dialed; you never left for the summit.
Ask yourselfAm I climbing, or just packing?
Operations
What stops youAvoids building the repeatable process; firefights and does it "manually just this once" — forever. Heroics feel essential.
On the mountainRe-deciding every single step instead of trusting a fixed rope protocol. You burn the energy you needed for the top.
Ask yourselfWill I have to make this same call tomorrow? Then it's a system, not a sprint.
Sales / Growth
What stops youChases every peak; commits to none. Optionality feels like safety.
On the mountainThree routes started, zero finished — summit fever for whichever mountain looks shiniest today.
Ask yourselfWhich single peak am I actually on right now?
Finance / The cautious one
What stops youOver-controls risk, never green-lights the push. One more acclimatization day, every day.
On the mountainThe window opens — you ask for one more rest day. The season closes. Caution is invisible until you've missed it.
Ask yourselfIs this prudence, or fear of committing to the climb?
People / Coordinator
What stops youProtects everyone's comfort; avoids the hard call. Being liked feels like leading.
On the mountainWon't tell the struggling member to turn back — so the whole rope team gets endangered.
Ask yourselfWhose comfort am I protecting, and what summit is it costing?
Founder / Me
What stops youStays in the loop, carries every pack, won't turn around. Being needed feels like being valuable.
On the mountainInsists on leading every pitch → you're the bottleneck. Or summit fever, pushing past the turnaround time.
Ask yourselfIf I dropped here, would they summit without me? If no — that's the problem, not the weather.
The point
Every one of these is a decision you're avoiding. Ship. Systematize. Pick the peak. Commit. Make the hard call. Let go. The mountain just makes the avoidance impossible to hide.