018: “Can You Lead Without Knowing Where You’re Going?” (lessons from Brendan Burns)
🧠 Erik’s Take
This solo debrief is as much a mirror as it is a microphone. Erik reflects on his conversation with Brendan Burns—coach, hedge fund founder, and a pivotal influence in his own journey—and uses it to explore the uncomfortable but critical tension between external success and internal clarity. What happens when even the best in the game can’t quite articulate their mission? What does that say about the rest of us?
🎯 Top Insights from the Interview
- Even Experts Miss Their Own Blind Spots: Despite all of Brendan’s skills, templates, and success, the clarity of mission and fear-handling frameworks still felt elusive. That’s not a failure—it’s reality.
- Plumber with a Leaky Sink Syndrome: Just because you help others with mission, vision, and values doesn’t mean you’ve nailed your own. And that’s okay, but it’s worth naming.
- Company vs. Life Alignment: The need for clarity hits harder in business, because leadership demands communication. But in life, ambiguity often goes unnoticed until it doesn't.
- The “Life Fund” Concept Is More Than a Thought Experiment: Pairing wealth management with intentional personal development could redefine how high performers grow—and how coaching reaches them.
- Hindsight Strategy Is Still Strategy: Sometimes, we only realize how smart a move was after the fact. Brendan’s investor-coaching overlap might be just that.
🧩 The Personal Layer
Erik doesn’t hold back here. He admits he hasn’t articulated a clear mission for his business, even as he coaches others through that very process. He opens up about his hesitancy to engage in a deep personal retreat, not out of fear of cost, but of disruption. And he shares how parenting, personal frameworks, and upcoming growth decisions are surfacing new questions. This is Erik, not just the coach or strategist, but the human navigating ambiguity in real time.
🧰 From Insight to Action
- Revisit Your Mission: Whether you’re a founder or solopreneur, if you haven’t done the work to articulate your mission and values, now is the time. Especially if you’re adding people soon.
- Name the Fear (Without Needing to Solve It Yet): If there’s something you’re avoiding (a conversation, a coach, a retreat), naming it clearly is the first courageous act.
- Look Back for Origin Stories: What skills from your past—degrees, roles, hobbies—still shape how you think and lead today? There’s wisdom in the rearview mirror.
- Design Your Own “Life Fund”: Whether you’re wealthy or not, think about investing equally in your financial health and your personal growth.
- Success Doesn’t Answer the Big Questions: Achieving your goals won’t automatically clarify your purpose. Do that work on purpose.
🗣️ Notable Quotes
“Some of the best people in the world don’t know how they do it—but they still do it well.”
“In business, friction makes the need for mission more obvious. In life, we can coast without it.”
“The genius moves we make in business? Sometimes we only see them in hindsight.”
🔗 Links & Resources
