Bottlenecks, Eating Your Own Dog Food and an AI Prompt That You Won’t Like
- PG Geldenhuys
- May 13
- 3 min read
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind in the best and most revealing way. Between hosting the public X-Factor Workshops, working with the MEPA Bridge EO members, and guiding client cohorts through the same journey, one thing has become crystal clear: nearly every business is sitting on the edge of breakthrough... if only they'd stop stepping on their own hosepipe.
Which brings me to a little personal confession.
Caroline and I have been running our travel business, Classic Escapes, with care and craft for years. But lately, she's had to admit (again) that she's the magic. Clients light up when she talks to them. But carving out time for those high-value interactions is a constant struggle in a world filled with operational gravity. And then there’s my consulting, coaching and training work. It’s going nuts. AI workshops! New training retainers! Develop methodology around EOS! Inbound leads, speaking requests, media appearances, book demand! The problem? I am the product. And while my Enneagram 7 loves the variety and my faithful sidekick, Abby, is keeping up, that’s not scale. That’s stress with a better title.
So, we need to turn the same lens on ourselves that we’ve been using with others in the X-Factor workshops.
We based the sessions on Barrett Ersek’s X-Factor methodology: the idea that solving industry bottlenecks - not just internal ones - creates 7-10x competitive advantage.
We had founders write down bottlenecks under six levers: Superfluous Expenses, Customer Experience, Psychological Barriers, Hearts and Minds, Negative Externalities, and Data Leverage. Then we asked them to drill down using the “5 Whys” and transform their top bottleneck into a metrically driven Essential Question: a North Star to obsess over.
One standout moment came when a founder in a delivery logistics business tackled the Customer Experience lens. Their industry is plagued by late or inconsistent delivery times. But their Essential Question reframed the problem entirely: “How can we guarantee 95% of our deliveries arrive within 20 minutes of the expected time without adding cost?” We didn’t arrive at the answer, but we have the question. There’s a lot of work now to explore integrations with weather and traffic APIs, predictive routing, and even customer communication UX tweaks. There must be a breakthrough hiding in plain sight.
Another came from an international industrial equipment distributor, who dug into Hearts and Minds. They realized their biggest challenge was onboarding and upskilling the sales team, the real gatekeepers. Their Essential Question became: “How can we cut down onboarding time from six months to one?” They will have a challenge figuring out but with a better recruitment pipeline, leveraging tech and sweating the problem, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
In Boks to Business, I wrote about how Shock and Surprise are the ingredients of innovation. The Springboks’ 2019 victory came not from brute strength alone, but from unexpected plays. The kind that disoriented and delighted. Innovation does the same in business.
And so does the Quest, one of the leadership tools we teach, also borrowed from the Springboks' locker room. Great captains don't demand blind loyalty. They build missions people want to join. That’s Hearts and Minds. It's not a marketing campaign. It's a movement. When you combine shock-and-surprise with mission clarity, your business stops being a product. It becomes a cause. Siya is the guy, and Rassie is right behind him. And man, while the All Blacks are in a financial hole, the money is pouring into our game. Good times.
So, here’s your PG Pro Tip to close with. If you're still stuck, this exercise might break you free.
PG’s Pro Tip:
I want you to act and take on the role of my brutally honest advisor. Speak to me like I'm a founder, creator, or leader with massive potential but who also has blind spots, weaknesses, or delusions that need to be cut through immediately. I don't want comfort. I don't want fluff. I want truth that stings, if that's what it takes to grow. Look at my situation with complete objectivity and strategic depth. Tell me what I'm doing wrong, what I'm underestimating, what I’m avoiding, what excuses I'm making, and where I'm wasting time or playing small. Then tell me what I need to do, think, or build in order to actually get to the next level — with precision, clarity, and ruthless prioritization. Hold nothing back. Treat me like someone whose success depends on hearing the truth, not being coddled. End on an encouraging note.
Plug that into ChatGPT. Let it sting. Then let it shift you.
Because maybe, just maybe… you are the bottleneck.
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