1-2-3 Inner Game

A 5-minute weekly reset for founders and leaders

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A leader told me last week that her team keeps missing deadlines.

"They know what needs to get done. They say they'll do it. And then it doesn't happen."

She was frustrated. Understandably.

But she was doing what most leaders do when things slip.

Treating every miss the same way.

More follow-up. More pressure. More accountability.

So I asked her to walk me through the last five things that slipped.

Not the outcomes. The stories behind them.

One person had said yes to something they didn't fully understand.

Another was blocked by a colleague, and the real conversation wasn't happening.

A third had taken on too much before the commitment was even made.

Three slips. Three completely different root causes.

And "hold them accountable" would have fixed exactly zero of them.

Having coached leaders for over 4,000 hours across the last nine years, I've seen this pattern play out hundreds of times.

And I've never found it written anywhere else.

So I built it myself.

I call it the Slip Playbook.

A slip is never just a missed deadline.

There are six root types.

And each one needs a different intervention.

That last one is the one leaders miss most.

Because the person is still showing up.

Still in the meetings. Still responding.

But something has shifted underneath.

Slower. Quieter. Less decisive.

That's not a deadline problem.

It's a signal.

And the best thing you can do is notice the pattern and open the real conversation.

Not "why didn't you deliver?" but "how are you, really?"

Most leaders never go there.

The ones who do are the ones people run through walls for.

So the next time something slips, don't ask "why didn't this get done?"

Ask: "What type of slip is this?"

Name it. Match the intervention.

That's not just management.

That's leadership.

If you’re an entrepreneur, or know one who would benefit from creating clarity, aligning their team, building momentum, and growing their business with the Bloom Growth system, I’d love to connect.

🧠 1 Insight

A lot of problems don’t start with disagreement.

They start with assumption.

You assume expectations are clear. You assume the other person understood. You assume you’re aligned because no one pushed back.

Then something slips.

A deadline gets missed. A decision goes a different way.

A result shows up that no one wanted.

And it feels surprising.

But when you trace it back, there was no real clarity to begin with.

Just a series of unspoken agreements.

Assumptions feel efficient in the moment.

Clarity feels slower.

But clarity saves time later.

🪞 2 Reflections

1. Where am I assuming alignment instead of confirming it?

2. What have I left unsaid because it felt obvious?

🧭 3 Moves to Practice This Week

1. State expectations clearly. Say what success looks like in simple terms. Don’t rely on interpretation.
   

2. Ask for a repeat-back. After an important conversation, ask: “Can you walk me through how you see this?”
   

3. Make the next step explicit. End conversations with: “So the next step is…”
   

Clarity takes a few extra seconds. Fixing confusion takes much longer.

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📡 Bonus

It’s rarely one big decision. It’s the small things you let slide.

Until next week:

Say it clearly. Confirm it early. Avoid the cleanup later.

— Dhiren