Clarity Needs Room to Catch Up

It is 5:45 a.m. The coffee is poured, the car is packed, and we quietly roll out of the driveway while the boys are still asleep in the back. For the next two hours, there are no snack requests, no toilet stops, no whining over the iPad. Just the road ahead, the sunrise somewhere over the horizon, and the quiet satisfaction that comes from knowing the hard work happened yesterday. 

In recent years, I have come to love an early road trip. Not because I particularly enjoy a 4:30 a.m. alarm, but because a 5:00 a.m. (ish) departure forces a different level of preparation, critical when you need to pack for four, not one. Bags are packed the night before. The car is loaded. Decisions are made. Bikes stay or go, all the golf bags (?), which games or cards? The route is planned. Coffee is ready. Tomorrow's success is built into yesterday's decisions.

It reminded me of something Grant Mackintosh told me way back about an MBA strat class I missed, where the Singaporean lecturer extolled the virtues of legendary Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, who reportedly said: “In times of peace, prepare for war. In times of war, prepare for peace.” It stuck. After all, the quality of today's decisions is usually determined by yesterday's preparation.

Founders often believe their biggest challenge is finding more time. I am becoming increasingly convinced that the real challenge is creating the conditions where the right work naturally happens. And part of that equation is taking a break, and then doing some hard reflection and planning in that space. That’s my OS, anyway. I’m wired not to shut down completely – ever – but here’s how I tackle the winter family time.

Let’s start with our 5:00 a.m. departure protocol. It is amazing how much calmer the day begins when the preparation happens before the pressure arrives. Business works exactly the same way. The preparation for the best quarterly planning sessions has already taken place before everyone walks into the room. The best client meetings happen because someone thought deeply beforehand. Even your own workday becomes more effective when tomorrow's priorities are decided the evening before, rather than while you're opening your inbox over your first cup of coffee.

The second lesson has come from the places we have chosen to visit. Although I am naturally attracted to new experiences, this holiday is built around many old favourites. Plettenberg Bay. Fancourt. Umngazi on the Wild Coast. Places that have become part of our family's rhythm. We still add a few new experiences along the way (like sauna on Plett Beach with the kids), but we are not abandoning what already works. We have two days for random decision-making built in there to keep it fresh and exciting, plus a stop at a favourite supplier for a brief spoil, but for the rest, it’s like settling into a comfy blanket. And there is, as always, constant movement with that blanket, which is just the way we roll.

Businesses often make the opposite mistake. They chase every shiny opportunity while neglecting the customers and capabilities that built the business in the first place. Good to Great introduced the idea of the Hedgehog Concept. Great companies understand what they can become world-class at, what they are deeply passionate about and what drives their economic engine. They innovate, certainly, but never at the expense of their core. Even companies like Philip Morris built enormous success by remaining relentlessly focused on their core brands while expanding around them rather than away from them. 

The third lesson has been the easiest to notice and probably the hardest to recreate at home. Parts of the Wild Coast simply do not have a reliable signal. I have had to decline or move so many online meetings that I’ve learned my lessons in previous years. And ironically, the business does not collapse. I compress activity into other parts of my schedule, and I get to be fully present for those few days. Conversations become longer. Books stay open for more than five minutes. Ideas appear that simply never surface between Teams calls.

Yes, I could solve the connectivity problem. I could install Starlink and carry the office with me wherever I go. But perhaps that misses the point. We spend so much of our lives trying to eliminate every constraint that we forget constraints often create clarity.

Founders spend most of their lives working in the business. Very few deliberately schedule enough time to work on it. Yet, it is in those quieter moments that the important questions finally emerge. If I only had two uninterrupted hours this week, what would I actually work on? Which decision have I been postponing by staying busy? Which one per cent improvement would create the biggest ripple effect over the next year?

That question becomes especially relevant as we prepare for our Cash Day workshop later this month. We will spend the day unpacking financial tools like the Power of One, demonstrating how seemingly insignificant one per cent improvements across pricing, volume, margins, expenses and collections compound into extraordinary business results over time. This tool works great for playing with your numbers and seeing where there is some juice. 

The mathematics is simple. The discipline is not. Finding those one per cent improvements requires something most leaders never allow themselves enough of: space. Space to think. Space to question assumptions. Space to notice patterns before rushing into action.

That is why this road trip has become more than a family holiday. It has become a reminder that strategic thinking is not a luxury reserved for annual off-sites. It is a leadership responsibility. Just as Atomic Habits teaches that small improvements compound into remarkable personal change, the same principle applies inside every business. One per cent better decisions, made consistently, outperform frantic activity every single time. 

PG's Pro Tip:

For the next week, track where your leadership attention actually goes. Every thirty minutes, make a quick note of what you were working on. At the end of the week, ask yourself three questions.

1. Where did my attention actually go?

2. If I had just two uninterrupted hours each week, which three initiatives would move my business thefurthest?

3. What important decision am I avoiding simply by staying busy?

Then use those answers to prepare for your next strategic planning session, not after it. 

AI Prompt:

"I'm taking a strategic pause mid-year. Help me identify the five most important decisions I need to make about my business in the next six months. For each decision, explain: (1) why I may be avoiding it, (2) what information I need to make it confidently, and (3) what one conversation, analysis or experiment would provide the greatest clarity. Then tell me how making progress on these five decisions would elevate or enhance my business.” 

The road has reminded me of something I probably needed to hear. Clarity rarely arrives because we are moving faster. More often, it arrives because we finally made enough space for it to catch up. 

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