Support is a lie

Stop "Helping" CEOs. Start Fixing Their Environment.

I sat through another investor panel yesterday where everyone kept talking about how to "support" their portfolio companies.

Things like reviewing board decks, troubleshooting hiring issues, jumping into pipeline reviews, or offering feedback on positioning.

A few years ago, I would've nodded along. It all sounds helpful.

But after two years of working directly with companies trying to scale under pressure, I've noticed something:

The advice itself isn't the problem. The issue is that it often lands in environments where it can't be applied.

It's not that CEOs don't want help.

The environment around them makes it hard to turn that help into action.

• There's no weekly rhythm to drive execution
• Priorities shift month to month
• Feedback gets stuck because decisions aren't owned
• The GTM motion is unclear or overloaded
• Trust is low between teams or between leadership and investors

And so the advice — even the good advice — disappears into the noise.

The Companies That Scale

The ones that make progress aren't necessarily working harder.

They're operating in environments that allow strategy and execution to connect.

• There's a precise rhythm for making decisions and tracking progress
• The team is aligned on what matters now, not what might matter later
• GTM is built around one or two motions — not five things done halfway
• Leadership roles are clear, and there's trust across functions
• Everyone knows what good looks like and what to ignore

None of this is flashy. It's not about heroic founders doing everything.

It's about the company's structure, making executing what matters easier.

What I've Learned

I used to think a well-timed insight could unlock growth. And sometimes, it can.

But I've also seen good advice fail because there wasn't a stable environment to act on it.

Trying to "help" more adds to the chaos in those cases.

It gives the illusion of progress but creates more dependency, not clarity.

I've seen real change happen when the focus shifts from more help to better conditions.

That's when priorities stick.

That's when decisions speed up.

That's when execution compounds.

So What Should We Be Doing?

If you're an investor, platform lead, or advisor — shift your focus.

Stop thinking about how to give more advice. Start helping teams build environments where advice can be applied.

Ask:

• Do they have a weekly rhythm that drives focus?
• Is the leadership team aligned on what matters this quarter?
• Is there clarity around how decisions get made?
• Is the GTM motion too broad or not working?
• Do they know what to stop doing?

Your role is to help set up the conditions — not solve every problem.

What Value Creation Looks Like

Value creation is helping create the right environment for the company to win.

That means:

• A rhythm that creates focus without creating chaos
• Clear decision-making that doesn't get bogged down in overthinking
• Sharp GTM priorities that don't change every month
• A team that knows what good looks like — and what to ignore

When those pieces are in place, advice becomes useful again.

Support has somewhere to land.

Execution becomes more consistent without adding more pressure.

A Simpler Way to Improve the Environment

Here's one way I've seen this work well: adapted from how Navy SEALs run AARs (After Action Reviews—I appreciate that not everyone likes an Army reference, but I thought it was practical and straightforward). I've started using this with a few companies, and it's made a big difference.

Use three simple questions in a weekly team review:

1. What went well this week that we should repeat?
2. → Focus on repeatable wins, not just one-off results.
3. What didn't go well — and what's the learning from it?
4. → Not about blame. Just what we'll change next time.
5. What change will we make to improve our operation next week?
6. → One adjustment to process, rhythm, or focus. Not ten.

Keep it tight and consistent. This builds reflection into the rhythm and improves execution without extra overhead.

Action action action:

Investors, Operating Partners, and Heads of Platform, this week's tangible prompt:

‍

Investors, Operating Partners, and Heads of Platform — if a company under $10M ARR feels stuck, don’t default to more help.

Instead, intervene at the environment level.

Ask:

• Do they have a weekly rhythm that drives focus — or is everything reactive?
• Are leadership decisions made quickly — or are priorities looping without closure?
• Is there clarity across GTM roles — or is accountability blurred between sales, marketing, product?
• Are they learning from their current motion — or just staying busy with no signal?

Push for a shift in environment, not just strategy.

Encourage a working session to simplify how the company operates:

• What’s the one GTM motion we trust and can measure?
• Where is the company currently over-coordinated?
• What’s blocking the CEO from spending time on the real priorities?
• Where can we remove friction — not add support?

This isn’t about stepping in to advise. It’s about helping create the conditions where advice sticks.

Offer support to build structure, not just give input.

CEO prompt, this week’s tangible prompt:

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If execution feels heavy or scattered, don’t start with a new idea. Start with the environment.

Have an open conversation with your leadership team this week.

Ask:

• Are we running a weekly rhythm that gives us clarity — or just reacting to noise?
• Where are decisions getting stuck or delayed?
• Are we aligned on what we’re aiming to achieve this quarter — and how we’ll get there?
• What part of our GTM motion is creating signal — and what’s just effort without return?
• What’s making execution harder than it needs to be?

Then do a quick diagnostic:

• If we paused all new initiatives for two weeks, what existing work would we clean up or complete?
• If we had to simplify our GTM motion by 50%, what would we keep — and why?
• If we had to define “what good looks like” for our team, could we?

The goal isn’t to do less — it’s to do the right things in an environment that makes execution possible.

Because speed doesn’t come from doing lots of things.

It comes from structure, clarity, and rhythm.

Don't aim for perfection — aim for clarity. Then, build from there.