I often confuse movement with progress
In GTM roles especially, busyness is often mistaken for value. The louder your calendar, the busier you are.
When you are busy, of course you must be important. Some people actually believe that by not being responsive, you will look busier and therefore more important.
But being busy is not the same thing as being useful.
I got this wrong, and I know I am not alone in this.
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I struggled deeply with this early in my career and especially during mu corporate years.
It is something I still have to actively fight as a CRO and as an independent operator.
In my corporate years we actually got rewarded for “working hard”. The incentives pushed you toward activity. More meetings felt productive and staying late meant you were someone others wanted on their team and you were a rising star.
What a load of crock!
When I look back at my best work, it never came from those late nights and being stretched thin. My best work came from focus and passion. It came from choosing a small number of things that actually moved the business forward and ignoring a lot of noise that was surface-level important.
The difference between Busy Work and Useful Work is huge.
Busy work = Reactive, Driven by whatever is loudest or newest, Focused on inputs like meetings and messages and tasks, Designed to fill time and signal effort
Useful work = Intentional, Anchored to outcomes not activity, Focused on leverage and second order effects, Designed to change behavior and decisions, or results
If you are a full-time GTM operator you know what I am talking about. For those of you who might be a Fractional Executive or Independent Operator, this difference is impossible to ignore.
You do not own the full calendar and you are literally not hired to attend everything. You are there to help them improve a particular area.
If I spend my very limited time sitting in meetings that do not alter decisions, behavior, or outcomes, I am failing the engagement even if I look engaged.
At the end of each week, I started asking one question:
What would not have happened if I were not here?
This is a GREAT question to ask yourself in ANY role. It is a classic “Butterfly Effect” question, often used as a prompt for self-reflection or to acknowledge your unique impact on the world.
This question is about causality. Every action you take, no matter how small, shifts the timeline of the people around you. It’s also a question about legacy in the moment.
If I can’t answer the question there is a problem.
Asking myself the question, regularly forced to refocus my time and energy.
Refocusing was hard and uncomfortable. It meant trading visibility for a better focus on outcomes. That meant saying no more often and meant disappointing people who wanted access.
A few changes that help me stay grounded.
Anchor the week to outcomes - I now start each week with a small number of outcomes that matter. Not a task list. If a meeting or request does not connect directly to one of those outcomes = gone.
I passionately protect deep - Useful work requires focus, thinking, writing, modelling, or reviewing data without interruption. I block time for it and it is non negotiable.
I prioritize second order impact - This is work that reshapes the rest. Some examples of this are; a clear ICP definition that aligns everything, an A player hire that helps to change momentum, or a tough conversation with a founder that ensures we are on the same page. These are all things that rarely feel urgent. but are always useful.
I still catch myself slipping. I still have weeks where my calendar wins and my focus loses but I am getting better at noticing it earlier and correcting faster.
Being busy is easy. Being useful takes discipline.
P.S Get sh!t done.
Why GTM or GTFO Exists: The GTM is bar is low - big talkers, best practices and bullshit. Being elite is your moat. Do the work that matters and get sh!t done.
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