🏋🏽The Filter

May 10, 2026

We get obsessed with speed.

We want to do things faster, better and smoother.

And we do this because that's what we are taught that builders do.

But moving fast doesn’t matter if our map is wrong.

The hardest part of leadership isn’t just doing things. It’s deciding which things are worth our limited energy.

When we get it right, we often do it poorly at first. That feels like a failure.

When we get it wrong, we sometimes do it very well. That feels like a win.

This is the hidden friction that harms our impact.

We find busywork we are good at so we can avoid the hard work we might fail at.

We can’t just talk about being productive.

We have to look at the intersection of

THE BULLSEYE (Right Thing, Well)
This is where we make our real mark. High impact meets high skill.
THE LAB (Right Thing, Poorly):
This is the messy middle of growth. We are in the right direction, but we’re finding our footing. It feels bad, but it is actually progress. We must keep going.
THE MIRAGE (Wrong Thing, Well):
The most dangerous trap. We feel competent because we are winning but we are winning a game that doesn’t matter. It is polished waste and a place we hide from the hard things.
THE VOID (Wrong Thing, Poorly)
Total friction. Zero growth, zero results, just noise. It drains us.

Here is a 15-minute practice we can use to stop polishing the wrong stones.

1. The Quick Inventory (5 mins):

List your top five top of mind things from the last seven days. Skip small tasks like emails.

2. The Honest Plot (5 mins):

Take those five items and be brutally honest about which quadrant they fit in: The Bullseye, The Lab, The Mirage, or The Void.

If an item is in The Lab: Lean into the mess. The directional intent is sound. Your skill will catch up.
If an item is in The Mirage: Stop immediately. It doesn’t matter how smooth you are if it doesn’t move the needle.

3. The Big Swap (5 mins):

Identify the main item currently sitting in The Mirage or The Void. Drop it.

Move all that energy and time to a “High Intent” project, even if it forces you to operate in The Lab (the poorly section).

Competence is a cage when it keeps us working on the wrong thing. Let’s stop trying to be efficient. Let’s start being effective.