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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 read a newsletter with a question at the end that made me go “hmmm.” Where are you choosing the responsible option over the true one? It made me pause because I’ve always seen myself as “overly responsible.” I started babysitting early. At 16, I was managing the concession stand and team of an 860-seat movie theater during the heyday of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I worked every summer– and then some. I’ve always been a planner. Meanwhile, my brother once spent a summer doing a “scientific internship” in Europe, and I remember thinking, why doesn’t that feel like an option for me? But when I look back, that story doesn’t quite hold up. I left a well-paid executive role after executing about 150 layoffs in a year, many without severance, while my CEO was spending questionably, because I was miserable. I then started a massage studio from scratch that was wildly successful from day one and sold it 18 months later to move to New Zealand, 26 weeks pregnant. And now? I’m leaving DC for the summer—Vermont, then Seattle—to actually spend time in the same city as my boyfriend. What a concept. Were any of those seen as “safe” choices? Not by many. But they weren’t reckless either. They were planned. Thought through. Financially sound. They were… responsibly irresponsible. 1 Leadership Insight A lot of leaders confuse responsibility with playing it safe. But real leadership—of a team or your own life—requires something else: The ability to take intentional risks. The problem isn’t that people avoid risk. Over time, that gap shows up everywhere:
Being “responsible” without being honest is just slow misalignment. 1 Practical Takeaway Ask yourself this: Where am I choosing the responsible option because it’s expected… not because it’s right? Then pressure-test it:
If it’s planned, aligned, and intentional—it’s not irresponsible. It’s a decision. And those are the ones that tend to work out. 1 Dose of Art A little whimsy. A little joy. A little doodle.
Doodle by Gary Schechner, 5/25/26 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 issues are slowing down your business, let’s fix that. Thanks for letting me show up in your inbox. More joy. Less friction. Always. |