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Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: If your biggest business challenges are actually people challenges, you’re in the right place. 1 Real Story I was talking with a friend about marathons. She mentioned someone who had just run one… and had never heard of Body Glide. If you’re not a distance runner, Body Glide is a simple, almost boring product. It prevents chafing. Reduces friction. Protects skin over long miles. Not glamorous. Not Instagram-worthy. But foundational. Anyone who’s run a marathon learns this lesson eventually. Especially men who discover, the hard way, what 26.2 miles of fabric friction can do. It starts small. Ignore it… and it becomes a raw, painful wound that can take weeks to recover from. The terrain of the marathon doesn’t matter. Flat. Hilly. Beautiful. Brutal. If you don’t take care of the basics, you will pay for it. 1 Leadership Insight In leadership, we obsess over strategy. We debate vision. But we ignore the Body Glide. The unsexy foundations. – Clear expectations They’re not flashy. They don’t get applause. They happen out of the spotlight. Often by yourself. For yourself. And when you skip them? Friction builds. At first it’s subtle. A slight misalignment. Left unattended, it becomes something far more painful. Burnout. The terrain doesn’t matter. Fast growth. If you ignore the fundamentals, you will feel it. 1 Practical Takeaway Ask yourself: – What foundational elements am I neglecting? The most effective leaders understand this: Prevention isn’t dramatic. It’s disciplined. And most of it happens privately. Taking care of foundational elements isn’t glamorous. No one claps when you clarify expectations or schedule recovery time. But it’s what allows you to go the distance. Because in a marathon — and in leadership — it’s rarely the visible terrain that breaks you. It’s the unattended friction. Protect the basics. Your future self will thank you. 1 Dose of Art A little whimsy. A little joy. A little doodle.
Doodle by Gary Schechner, 2/27/26 Even though this is a “mass email” I mean it when I say—let me know what you are up to. Reply, book a Zoom, pick up the phone. I’d love to catch up. If people friction is slowing down your business, let’s fix that. Thanks for letting me show up in your inbox. More joy. Less friction. Always. |