CEOs: Stop Fixing What’s Broken. Start Building What Matters

Welcome to Hiking Notes

As a consultant and business leader, I’ve had the privilege of working with a variety of businesses and individuals. One thing I’ve learned: the most successful leaders are the ones who embrace change with clarity and confidence. In business, we constantly wrestle with contradictions—certainty vs. action, short-term results vs. sustainable growth, inward focus vs. customer centricity. These tensions define leadership, and navigating them well makes all the difference.

Here, I’ll share reflections and insights to help cut through the noise. You won’t find exhaustive analysis or research—there’s plenty of that elsewhere. Instead, I’ll offer perspectives that help make sense of the vast amount of information and experience we all encounter. My goal is to spark meaningful conversations and share ideas that drive impact. I hope you’ll join me in this journey and share your perspectives too.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates (attributed)

CEOs: Stop Fixing What’s Broken. Start Building What Matters.

Too many businesses spend their time patching cracks instead of laying new foundations. The market shifts, customer needs evolve, and yet companies tinker—optimizing campaigns, tweaking org charts, adjusting pricing—without addressing the real issue: Have we actually stayed relevant?

The hardest move isn’t the fix. It’s the leap. The bold choice to reassess, refocus, and rebuild where needed. The best CEOs don’t just play defense; they set a new direction, anchored in what customers truly value today—not five years ago.

So here’s the real question: If you were starting fresh, would you build the business you have now? If not, what’s stopping you?

Maybe it’s the sunk cost fallacy—years of effort invested in structures that no longer serve the business. Maybe it’s risk aversion—choosing safe, incremental improvements over bold reinvention. Or maybe it’s just inertia—operating on autopilot while the market moves on.

I’ve seen leadership teams stuck in fix mode—tweaking pricing models, marketing plans, adjusting structures—until we stepped back and asked: If we were starting this today, would it even exist? What would it look like?

That question changed the conversation. It liberated the team from incremental fixes (with incremental short-term gains) and gave them the courage to refocus on solving real customer problems (with material and sustainable results). It helped them reimagine the future instead of patching the past.

What We Can Learn from Netflix, Apple, and Monzo

Great companies don’t just improve; they reinvent. Consider these examples:

• Netflix: In 2011, they split their DVD rental business and doubled down on streaming—at a time when it was still a gamble. Their stock plummeted 75% in months. But they knew the future wasn’t mailing DVDs—it was digital, and they bet on it. Today, that decision looks obvious. Back then, it wasn’t.

• Apple: They’ve repeatedly killed their own best-selling products to create better ones. No CD drives, no headphone jacks, and even the iPod gave way to the iPhone. Each time, people resisted. Each time, Apple moved forward. Each time, the industry followed.

• Monzo: A bank that didn’t act like a bank. No hidden fees, no branch visits, instant notifications, and the ability to freeze your card with a tap. They didn’t create a new category—they just made banking work the way customers actually wanted it to.

No-Regret Moves: Where to Start

Not every shift requires a full reinvention. But some moves are always worth making:

Talk to your customers (again). Assumptions creep in. What you think they value and what they actually value may not be the same anymore. Find out.

Simplify. If your product, pricing, or customer journey is more complex than it needs to be, strip it back. The best businesses remove friction, not add to it—even at the cost of short-term incremental gains.

Kill what’s not working. Legacy products, outdated processes, bad customer experiences—if they wouldn’t exist in a fresh business today, why are they still there?

Test bold ideas, fast. You don’t have to bet the company overnight. Pilot changes, launch MVPs, and see how the market reacts. If it works, scale it. If not, move on.

Align your team on the real goal. If your people are optimizing the past instead of building for the future, that’s a leadership problem. Make the vision clear.

Your Move

So, what’s your version of that move? Where are you still optimizing something that should be reinvented? Or where could a single, bold shift—simplifying pricing, removing a barrier, changing how you deliver value—completely change the game?

Forget incremental tweaks. What would you build if you were starting today? Maybe it’s time to start.