Nailing the 4 Critical Moments

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A perk of speaking with people every week who do larger-than-expected things is that you get to hear their origin stories. I’ve heard many of them from people all around the world, and one thing I’ve noticed? The best nail the critical moments. 

It’s their performance in these high-stakes moments that catapult them forward, and there’s a pattern of execution that sets the stage for this — whether that’s the critical moments they set up themselves or the critical moments that come through evolution in playing to win in the game of business. They know where they want to go, and there is a dance to be done. 

• In the self-created moments? They shoot their shots, take the risk, and be as aggressive as they need to be.

• In the moments that come from the outside or because of scale? They find ways of thriving in the circumstances that decimate others, avoiding pitfalls, and swallowing their egos to thoughtfully navigate the next steps. 

We often talk about the former, but people rarely discuss how to navigate what is hoisted upon you as you scale and grow in your career or company…even though these are the moments that happen to everyone — whether you’re an executive, a founder, or running a side gig.

The natural lifecycle of a career or business that reaches the top will chew most people up and spit them out. This tends to happen in four critical moments, and — for most people — these will serve as a ceiling that they’ll never push through. It will end their journey. For the truly successful, however, they will thrive in these moments…even when others might fail.

This week’s edition explores these under-discussed and essential moments that everyone will face. We’ll take a look at each of the four critical moments, exploring what holds most people back — and how you can pull off the win instead.