“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”
~ African Proverb
As you know, I am from Hawai’i. And one of the great traditions we have is paddling in the ocean.
From the time of our ancestors, we have been people of the water. We don’t just go into the ocean. We know it. And we interpret what it is doing.
Sometimes, it is best to avoid the water altogether. But many more times, we harness what it is doing. We turn the energy that is present into progress.
If that knowledge did not exist, no one would ever get in the water. It would be too hard.
The waves and currents would overwhelm us. The wind would slow our progress or even turn us off course.
Which brings me to this week’s theme.
We are almost halfway through January and I have a question for you.
Does 2025 feel any different?
Does 2025 feel any different?
It may be too soon to have an answer, but it is not too soon to ask the question.
Because if the data tells us anything, 2024 was tough.
Instead of waves, currents, and wind, we have stress, disengagement, and burnout.
The grind was ceaseless. And if you didn’t personally feel it, your workmates did.
- 75% of the global workforce is disengaged, clocking in but not truly showing up.
- 50% of managers are actively looking for new jobs, worn down by the constant grind.
- Burnout has become the norm, with nearly half of employees globally struggling to stay afloat.
I highlight this data (yet again) because of one very important message… It doesn’t have to be this way.
When I talk with clients and prospects, the same root cause problem is validated over and over again.
The single biggest factor driving so much dysfunction and waste is this: we execute poorly.
To put a finer point on it, we execute like crap.
Tourists in the ocean
It’s like watching tourists from some place like Iowa rent a kayak and try to paddle in the ocean. They splash and flail in anything but the calmest waters. Minor waves cause major disruption.
If they try to get outside of the bay, they quickly learn that deeper waters are not easier. When they suddenly realize that they are not prepared for what they are doing, they paddle like mad to get back to shore. And fight the whole way back in.
Once on land, they are exhausted. Genuinely wiped out. They might smile at the absurdity of what they tried to do, but they tell themselves that it’s best to stay close to shore, to paddle in the calmest shallows – if they ever get back in the kayak again.
Much like the tourists fighting the ocean, businesses that fail to adapt to deeper waters find themselves battling stress and inefficiency at every turn.
Entire organizations take a mantra like “land and expand” or “10x by year XYZ” and tell the entire organization to get in the proverbial ocean and paddle.
Everyone goes in and – at first – the water is fine. The shallow water seems “easy” and the energy starts to go up as the water changes color, becoming darker as the depth increases.
Then first set of big waves appear: the end of Q1 starts to approach.
Every little mistake and gap is suddenly exposed as the surf pounds our little team. Leaders scramble to “fix it” but… we don’t fix the ocean. We navigate it.
“Skills” that don’t help
And here is where the leaders are now exposed. Most often, they really only know two things: paddle harder or turn back to safer waters.
Both “skills” lead to disengagement. And burnout. And major retention problems.
And especially underperformance.
Deadlines get moved. Targets get missed. Budgets get cut. The strategy is failing to execute.
Then people are told to paddle harder. Again.
“Execution” becomes a cascade of failures.
And do you know the worst part of this analogy? I’m talking about a pattern that has been going on for YEARS.
At the very least, it’s been like this since 2020 – when COVID hit. And people are exhausted from the wash/rinse/repeat cycle. If you add in leaders who are guilty of resulting, they assume that everything is fine as long as targets are hit – impact on humans be damned.
Look. I am not saying all leaders are bad. Goodness, no.
But I am saying that they operate with a MAJOR blind spot.
And that blind spot scales the larger the organization gets.
- A blind spot in Marketing snowballs into serious weaknesses in Sales – which produces discounting galore.
- A blind spot in Finance vetoes all decisions involving risk – which kills any growth opportunity that the Innovation team pursues.
- A blind spot in HR hamstrings the recruitment and promotion of top talent – which affects every management team in the org.
Every decision to simply “paddle harder” or “retreat to calmer water” fuels a downward spiral.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
I made a very short video that I posted on LinkedIn about this very topic. If you’re ready to navigate 2025 differently, I’ve shared three practical strategies in this short video. You can watch it here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timohai_leadership-bestpractices-howtonotexecute-activity-7282615656527642624-fnWB?
In it, I cover three very practical principles you can apply right now.
The key is this: it’s not about working harder. 2025 NEEDS to be about working smarter.
And that’s what I genuinely desire for you.
I want you to know how to harness the ocean – not avoid it. I want you to enjoy the water – not dread it. I want you to see the challenges you face as teachers – not enemies. And I want you to bring as many people along with you on the voyage as possible.
I will continue to use this newsletter to share the best practices that I use with my clients to help them execute differently, better. To help them thrive.
And most importantly, to help YOU thrive.
Holomua. Onward and upward.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-ready-ocean-tim-ohai-3z2sc
An extra thought:
“Ideas are worth a buck. All the money is in the execution.”
~ Randy Williams, Kieretsu Forum
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