There comes a time in every principled expert’s iteration journey where there is so much pressure to get it exactly right that you freeze. Which means that no new fixes are being tested. And progress stalls.
The old model worked, and you built something real with it, and now the ground has shifted and you don’t fully trust your own judgment in the new terrain yet.
You have two legitimate concerns fused into one paralyzing belief:
- “Pre-disruption sales strategies are unreliable” — this is probably true, and it’s a real insight.
- “Therefore I must figure out the right new approach before I can proceed” — this is where it tips into avoidance.
The fusion feels like strategic thinking. It isn’t. It’s the intelligence being conscripted to protect against the discomfort of testing something and having it fail publicly. And because you’re smart, the rationalization is very convincing.
The way through is to rebuild trust in your judgment — and you do that by acting, getting feedback, and surviving being wrong.