Tobey Wyatt (Motherlode)
@motherlodeadvisor.bsky.social
Most execution advice is an expensive lie wrapped in a catchphrase. It sounds smart, gets engagement, and makes your problem worse.
"Hire better people" when you don't know what the role needs.
"Build processes" when nobody has BANDWIDTH to follow them.
Congratulations. You made it worse.
"Hire better people" when you don't know what the role needs.
"Build processes" when nobody has BANDWIDTH to follow them.
Congratulations. You made it worse.
November 15, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Most execution advice is an expensive lie wrapped in a catchphrase. It sounds smart, gets engagement, and makes your problem worse.
"Hire better people" when you don't know what the role needs.
"Build processes" when nobody has BANDWIDTH to follow them.
Congratulations. You made it worse.
"Hire better people" when you don't know what the role needs.
"Build processes" when nobody has BANDWIDTH to follow them.
Congratulations. You made it worse.
"Right people, right seats."
"Slow down to speed up."
"Prioritize ruthlessly."
"Move fast and break things."
Good advice. But none of it is enough.
The reality is complex because business and people are complex. But our brains crave simple answers, so we settle for partial solutions.
"Slow down to speed up."
"Prioritize ruthlessly."
"Move fast and break things."
Good advice. But none of it is enough.
The reality is complex because business and people are complex. But our brains crave simple answers, so we settle for partial solutions.
November 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
"Right people, right seats."
"Slow down to speed up."
"Prioritize ruthlessly."
"Move fast and break things."
Good advice. But none of it is enough.
The reality is complex because business and people are complex. But our brains crave simple answers, so we settle for partial solutions.
"Slow down to speed up."
"Prioritize ruthlessly."
"Move fast and break things."
Good advice. But none of it is enough.
The reality is complex because business and people are complex. But our brains crave simple answers, so we settle for partial solutions.
Execution failing? Run these four questions:
TIME: Are people working beyond their hours?
SKILLS: Constantly surprised people can't do what you thought the role required?
COORDINATION: Are meetings filled with tension over handoffs?
TIME: Are people working beyond their hours?
SKILLS: Constantly surprised people can't do what you thought the role required?
COORDINATION: Are meetings filled with tension over handoffs?
November 13, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Execution failing? Run these four questions:
TIME: Are people working beyond their hours?
SKILLS: Constantly surprised people can't do what you thought the role required?
COORDINATION: Are meetings filled with tension over handoffs?
TIME: Are people working beyond their hours?
SKILLS: Constantly surprised people can't do what you thought the role required?
COORDINATION: Are meetings filled with tension over handoffs?
You keep saying, "I can't find good people."
They keep saying, "Your process is broken."
You're both right. And you're both wrong.
You can't find good people because you don't know how to hire for what you need. They say your process is broken because coordination IS messy, planning IS reactive.
They keep saying, "Your process is broken."
You're both right. And you're both wrong.
You can't find good people because you don't know how to hire for what you need. They say your process is broken because coordination IS messy, planning IS reactive.
November 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM
You keep saying, "I can't find good people."
They keep saying, "Your process is broken."
You're both right. And you're both wrong.
You can't find good people because you don't know how to hire for what you need. They say your process is broken because coordination IS messy, planning IS reactive.
They keep saying, "Your process is broken."
You're both right. And you're both wrong.
You can't find good people because you don't know how to hire for what you need. They say your process is broken because coordination IS messy, planning IS reactive.
Execution doesn't fail because people aren't working hard enough.
It fails when the four forces holding it up are out of balance: TIME, SKILLS, COORDINATION, and CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
It fails when the four forces holding it up are out of balance: TIME, SKILLS, COORDINATION, and CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
November 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Execution doesn't fail because people aren't working hard enough.
It fails when the four forces holding it up are out of balance: TIME, SKILLS, COORDINATION, and CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
It fails when the four forces holding it up are out of balance: TIME, SKILLS, COORDINATION, and CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
You desire continuous improvement. Your impatience is creating continuous destruction.
You can't max out TIME while building SKILLS. You can't demand COORDINATION at speed. You can't run at 100% and expect CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
You can't max out TIME while building SKILLS. You can't demand COORDINATION at speed. You can't run at 100% and expect CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
November 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM
You desire continuous improvement. Your impatience is creating continuous destruction.
You can't max out TIME while building SKILLS. You can't demand COORDINATION at speed. You can't run at 100% and expect CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
You can't max out TIME while building SKILLS. You can't demand COORDINATION at speed. You can't run at 100% and expect CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
I walked into the KU women's club volleyball practice terrified.
Deeply insecure, almost completely untrained grad student. Oldest, most out of shape, certainly the worst player.
Started as Libero - the "hide her where she can't do damage" kind.
My instinct was pure self-protection.
Deeply insecure, almost completely untrained grad student. Oldest, most out of shape, certainly the worst player.
Started as Libero - the "hide her where she can't do damage" kind.
My instinct was pure self-protection.
November 2, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I walked into the KU women's club volleyball practice terrified.
Deeply insecure, almost completely untrained grad student. Oldest, most out of shape, certainly the worst player.
Started as Libero - the "hide her where she can't do damage" kind.
My instinct was pure self-protection.
Deeply insecure, almost completely untrained grad student. Oldest, most out of shape, certainly the worst player.
Started as Libero - the "hide her where she can't do damage" kind.
My instinct was pure self-protection.
Your team doesn't have a communication problem. They have a coordination problem.
They don't know who owns what. So they shrink their boxes, defer, stay quiet.
You tell them to "speak up more."
But they can't communicate about something when ownership isn't explicit.
Fix coordination first.
They don't know who owns what. So they shrink their boxes, defer, stay quiet.
You tell them to "speak up more."
But they can't communicate about something when ownership isn't explicit.
Fix coordination first.
November 1, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Your team doesn't have a communication problem. They have a coordination problem.
They don't know who owns what. So they shrink their boxes, defer, stay quiet.
You tell them to "speak up more."
But they can't communicate about something when ownership isn't explicit.
Fix coordination first.
They don't know who owns what. So they shrink their boxes, defer, stay quiet.
You tell them to "speak up more."
But they can't communicate about something when ownership isn't explicit.
Fix coordination first.
On my volleyball team, I'd think "I'll let the better passer get it" when balls came near the line.
But shrinking my responsibility killed confidence, trust, and momentum.
The fix: explicit coordination. Someone owns line balls.
Founders: What projects sit between roles with no explicit owner?
But shrinking my responsibility killed confidence, trust, and momentum.
The fix: explicit coordination. Someone owns line balls.
Founders: What projects sit between roles with no explicit owner?
October 31, 2025 at 1:15 PM
On my volleyball team, I'd think "I'll let the better passer get it" when balls came near the line.
But shrinking my responsibility killed confidence, trust, and momentum.
The fix: explicit coordination. Someone owns line balls.
Founders: What projects sit between roles with no explicit owner?
But shrinking my responsibility killed confidence, trust, and momentum.
The fix: explicit coordination. Someone owns line balls.
Founders: What projects sit between roles with no explicit owner?
Does your team agree on what email is for vs Slack? What do after-hours messages mean?
If not, you have 8 different definitions—and never discussed them.
The fix isn't more tools. It's explicit agreements about the ones you have.
Better communication. Protected culture. Time saved finding info.
If not, you have 8 different definitions—and never discussed them.
The fix isn't more tools. It's explicit agreements about the ones you have.
Better communication. Protected culture. Time saved finding info.
October 30, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Does your team agree on what email is for vs Slack? What do after-hours messages mean?
If not, you have 8 different definitions—and never discussed them.
The fix isn't more tools. It's explicit agreements about the ones you have.
Better communication. Protected culture. Time saved finding info.
If not, you have 8 different definitions—and never discussed them.
The fix isn't more tools. It's explicit agreements about the ones you have.
Better communication. Protected culture. Time saved finding info.
In 2007, I lost a friendship that mattered—not because the connection broke, but because I never coordinated what "staying connected" meant.
I'd studied abroad in Japan. A couple welcomed me into their home with extraordinary generosity. The connection was real.
Then I disappeared.
I'd studied abroad in Japan. A couple welcomed me into their home with extraordinary generosity. The connection was real.
Then I disappeared.
October 29, 2025 at 1:53 PM
In 2007, I lost a friendship that mattered—not because the connection broke, but because I never coordinated what "staying connected" meant.
I'd studied abroad in Japan. A couple welcomed me into their home with extraordinary generosity. The connection was real.
Then I disappeared.
I'd studied abroad in Japan. A couple welcomed me into their home with extraordinary generosity. The connection was real.
Then I disappeared.
Be honest: Why are you still doing work that shouldn't be yours?
☐ Waiting for time to teach it
☐ Waiting for them to prove readiness
☐ Waiting for things to settle down
Most founders think they're waiting for the right moment.
Usually, they never built the handoff.
What's YOUR excuse?
☐ Waiting for time to teach it
☐ Waiting for them to prove readiness
☐ Waiting for things to settle down
Most founders think they're waiting for the right moment.
Usually, they never built the handoff.
What's YOUR excuse?
October 28, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Be honest: Why are you still doing work that shouldn't be yours?
☐ Waiting for time to teach it
☐ Waiting for them to prove readiness
☐ Waiting for things to settle down
Most founders think they're waiting for the right moment.
Usually, they never built the handoff.
What's YOUR excuse?
☐ Waiting for time to teach it
☐ Waiting for them to prove readiness
☐ Waiting for things to settle down
Most founders think they're waiting for the right moment.
Usually, they never built the handoff.
What's YOUR excuse?
Yet again, I scheduled the doctor's appointment alone—even though my spouse offered to help and should've been handling it.
This was my second child, his first. I had the base knowledge. We expected the gap to close naturally.
But we never explicitly handed it off.
This was my second child, his first. I had the base knowledge. We expected the gap to close naturally.
But we never explicitly handed it off.
October 27, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Yet again, I scheduled the doctor's appointment alone—even though my spouse offered to help and should've been handling it.
This was my second child, his first. I had the base knowledge. We expected the gap to close naturally.
But we never explicitly handed it off.
This was my second child, his first. I had the base knowledge. We expected the gap to close naturally.
But we never explicitly handed it off.
At a networking event last month, I stood outside a circle of people talking, waiting for a break to join.
Never did.
Put me in a Chief of Staff role? I can walk up to anyone—I have a reason.
At a "let's build connections" happy hour? I'm paralyzed.
Never did.
Put me in a Chief of Staff role? I can walk up to anyone—I have a reason.
At a "let's build connections" happy hour? I'm paralyzed.
October 26, 2025 at 1:01 PM
At a networking event last month, I stood outside a circle of people talking, waiting for a break to join.
Never did.
Put me in a Chief of Staff role? I can walk up to anyone—I have a reason.
At a "let's build connections" happy hour? I'm paralyzed.
Never did.
Put me in a Chief of Staff role? I can walk up to anyone—I have a reason.
At a "let's build connections" happy hour? I'm paralyzed.
What's the most expensive hire you made based on gut feel?
Where you couldn't actually assess the skills needed, so you went with "they seem smart"?
(We've all done it. Some of us are still paying for it.)
Where you couldn't actually assess the skills needed, so you went with "they seem smart"?
(We've all done it. Some of us are still paying for it.)
October 25, 2025 at 2:14 PM
What's the most expensive hire you made based on gut feel?
Where you couldn't actually assess the skills needed, so you went with "they seem smart"?
(We've all done it. Some of us are still paying for it.)
Where you couldn't actually assess the skills needed, so you went with "they seem smart"?
(We've all done it. Some of us are still paying for it.)
You can't assess what you haven't studied deeply.
To teach high school algebra, I needed grad-level math. Not to teach calculus—to see foundational gaps three concepts back.
Without that depth? Surface fixes to deeper problems.
To teach high school algebra, I needed grad-level math. Not to teach calculus—to see foundational gaps three concepts back.
Without that depth? Surface fixes to deeper problems.
October 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
You can't assess what you haven't studied deeply.
To teach high school algebra, I needed grad-level math. Not to teach calculus—to see foundational gaps three concepts back.
Without that depth? Surface fixes to deeper problems.
To teach high school algebra, I needed grad-level math. Not to teach calculus—to see foundational gaps three concepts back.
Without that depth? Surface fixes to deeper problems.
Your interview tests their interview skills.
Not job skills.
That's the problem.
Want to fix your interview process? DM me.
Not job skills.
That's the problem.
Want to fix your interview process? DM me.
October 23, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Your interview tests their interview skills.
Not job skills.
That's the problem.
Want to fix your interview process? DM me.
Not job skills.
That's the problem.
Want to fix your interview process? DM me.
The hiring manager thought I was "too bubbly" for a Chief of Staff role. Worried I didn't have backbone.
My coworker laughed: "Bubbly is the last word I'd use to describe you."
He was right. What they saw was forced positivity after a year of unemployment. Performance anxiety.
My coworker laughed: "Bubbly is the last word I'd use to describe you."
He was right. What they saw was forced positivity after a year of unemployment. Performance anxiety.
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The hiring manager thought I was "too bubbly" for a Chief of Staff role. Worried I didn't have backbone.
My coworker laughed: "Bubbly is the last word I'd use to describe you."
He was right. What they saw was forced positivity after a year of unemployment. Performance anxiety.
My coworker laughed: "Bubbly is the last word I'd use to describe you."
He was right. What they saw was forced positivity after a year of unemployment. Performance anxiety.
Be honest: What's your interview process actually testing?
🎯 The skills the role actually needs
🗣️ Whether you personally like them
🧠 Quick thinking under pressure
🤷 Honestly? No idea
Most founders think: competence.
Actually testing: charisma.
What about you?
🎯 The skills the role actually needs
🗣️ Whether you personally like them
🧠 Quick thinking under pressure
🤷 Honestly? No idea
Most founders think: competence.
Actually testing: charisma.
What about you?
October 21, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Be honest: What's your interview process actually testing?
🎯 The skills the role actually needs
🗣️ Whether you personally like them
🧠 Quick thinking under pressure
🤷 Honestly? No idea
Most founders think: competence.
Actually testing: charisma.
What about you?
🎯 The skills the role actually needs
🗣️ Whether you personally like them
🧠 Quick thinking under pressure
🤷 Honestly? No idea
Most founders think: competence.
Actually testing: charisma.
What about you?
I see systems everywhere. Can diagnose organizational chaos in an hour.
But I'm terrible at routine follow-up. CRM updates. The execution work outside my genius zone.
Last month, networking meetings that could've turned into something? I dropped the ball on follow-up.
But I'm terrible at routine follow-up. CRM updates. The execution work outside my genius zone.
Last month, networking meetings that could've turned into something? I dropped the ball on follow-up.
October 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
I see systems everywhere. Can diagnose organizational chaos in an hour.
But I'm terrible at routine follow-up. CRM updates. The execution work outside my genius zone.
Last month, networking meetings that could've turned into something? I dropped the ball on follow-up.
But I'm terrible at routine follow-up. CRM updates. The execution work outside my genius zone.
Last month, networking meetings that could've turned into something? I dropped the ball on follow-up.
I've been the hero at multiple organizations. Made impossible deadlines happen. Never said no.
Hero mode in a team is addictive in ways solo hero mode isn't.
Alone, you feel the drain immediately. In a team? The camaraderie becomes the drug that makes dysfunction feel like dedication.
Hero mode in a team is addictive in ways solo hero mode isn't.
Alone, you feel the drain immediately. In a team? The camaraderie becomes the drug that makes dysfunction feel like dedication.
October 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I've been the hero at multiple organizations. Made impossible deadlines happen. Never said no.
Hero mode in a team is addictive in ways solo hero mode isn't.
Alone, you feel the drain immediately. In a team? The camaraderie becomes the drug that makes dysfunction feel like dedication.
Hero mode in a team is addictive in ways solo hero mode isn't.
Alone, you feel the drain immediately. In a team? The camaraderie becomes the drug that makes dysfunction feel like dedication.
Your "A Players" are actually your problem.
That superstar working until 2am? They're not proving your model works. They're hiding that it's broken.
Sarah covers for 3 broken systems with willpower. So you never fix them. You just find more Sarahs.
That superstar working until 2am? They're not proving your model works. They're hiding that it's broken.
Sarah covers for 3 broken systems with willpower. So you never fix them. You just find more Sarahs.
October 18, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Your "A Players" are actually your problem.
That superstar working until 2am? They're not proving your model works. They're hiding that it's broken.
Sarah covers for 3 broken systems with willpower. So you never fix them. You just find more Sarahs.
That superstar working until 2am? They're not proving your model works. They're hiding that it's broken.
Sarah covers for 3 broken systems with willpower. So you never fix them. You just find more Sarahs.
"My team needs to want it more" is founder gaslighting.
You're building generational wealth. They're building next month's mortgage.
You sell for $10M, you're set. They get laid off in the acquisition.
You're building generational wealth. They're building next month's mortgage.
You sell for $10M, you're set. They get laid off in the acquisition.
October 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM
"My team needs to want it more" is founder gaslighting.
You're building generational wealth. They're building next month's mortgage.
You sell for $10M, you're set. They get laid off in the acquisition.
You're building generational wealth. They're building next month's mortgage.
You sell for $10M, you're set. They get laid off in the acquisition.
Weekly Capacity Check: 5 questions, async, prevents burnout
Every Friday 3pm, auto-send:
- What didn't you get to?
- What work did nobody ask for?
- What would you cut?
- What shouldn't exist?
- Sustainability: 1-10?
Every Friday 3pm, auto-send:
- What didn't you get to?
- What work did nobody ask for?
- What would you cut?
- What shouldn't exist?
- Sustainability: 1-10?
October 16, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Weekly Capacity Check: 5 questions, async, prevents burnout
Every Friday 3pm, auto-send:
- What didn't you get to?
- What work did nobody ask for?
- What would you cut?
- What shouldn't exist?
- Sustainability: 1-10?
Every Friday 3pm, auto-send:
- What didn't you get to?
- What work did nobody ask for?
- What would you cut?
- What shouldn't exist?
- Sustainability: 1-10?
CEOs miss this: Capacity isn't standalone. It's connected to everything.
When priorities shift weekly, teams burn 30% energy just figuring out what matters today.
When nobody knows who's doing what, work gets duplicated. Capacity torched in chaos.
When priorities shift weekly, teams burn 30% energy just figuring out what matters today.
When nobody knows who's doing what, work gets duplicated. Capacity torched in chaos.
October 15, 2025 at 1:53 PM
CEOs miss this: Capacity isn't standalone. It's connected to everything.
When priorities shift weekly, teams burn 30% energy just figuring out what matters today.
When nobody knows who's doing what, work gets duplicated. Capacity torched in chaos.
When priorities shift weekly, teams burn 30% energy just figuring out what matters today.
When nobody knows who's doing what, work gets duplicated. Capacity torched in chaos.