The Real Sacrifice Nobody Talks About

The old sacrifice was time — all-nighters, weekends, grinding. That was the badge of honor.

The new sacrifice? Ego. And it's harder.

Senior leaders especially struggle here. They've built their identity around knowing more than everyone else in the room. Asking them to reset to level one isn't just a skill shift — it's an identity hit.

The ego shows up quietly:

• Avoiding anything that might make you look foolish
• Calling it "strategy" when it's really self-protection
• Running "sandbag experiments" — things you already know will work

A real experiment has a 90% chance of failure. Nine out of ten times, you'll be embarrassed. If you can't handle that, you can't innovate.

Most people don't run experiments. They run parades dressed up as bold moves.