Creatives Can Manage Time — Wrecking the Myth February 15, 2026 After nearly two decades running a growing business, I’m now spending my weeks inside leadership teams. In that time, I’ve learned something that still surprises a lot of leaders. Somewhere on your team is a creative. You may not think of them that way. They aren’t always the designer or the copywriter. Sometimes they’re the operations leader who thinks in pictures. Sometimes they’re the salesperson who explains everything with stories. Sometimes they’re the HR leader who fills notebooks with doodles but asks the question that stops the room. Creatives are everywhere. And when you’re trying to run a business, they can feel equal parts brilliant and frustrating. The Reputation Creatives Can’t Shake Creatives have been stuck with the same reputation forever: Hard to manage. Not great with deadlines. Allergic to calendars. At their best late at night, after everyone

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I see smart, experienced leaders make bad decisions. Not because they’re wrong, but because they like to GSD. They’re wired to execute and move on. They have a truth, but not the full picture. There’s an old parable about three blind men trying to identify an elephant simply by touch. One touches its side and says, “It must be a wall.” Another touches the leg and says, “No, it’s a pillar.” The third grabs the tail and insists, “You’re both wrong. It’s a rope.” Each one is describing something real. Each one is telling the truth. But none of them can see the whole elephant. That’s what happens on leadership teams. Leaders have a truth. It’s earned. It’s real. And under pressure, they often make decisions without inviting other perspectives. Not out of ego, but because speed matters. Once they see the answer, conversation can feel unnecessary. I’m not proud

Most businesses don’t stall because of bad ideas. They stall because there’s no clear way to run the business. You can have a strong product. A capable leadership team. A growing market. And still feel stuck. I’ve spent more than 20 years in leadership roles , including years inside the legal world , and I’ve sat in boardrooms with smart, driven leaders who were exhausted. Growth felt heavy. Meetings felt circular. Progress felt slower than it should. The problem wasn’t intelligence. It wasn’t effort. It wasn’t ambition. It was the lack of a real business operating system. Before I became an EOS Implementer, I lived this firsthand. I watched organizations struggle not because they lacked talent, but because they lacked a simple, structured way to run the business. Most leaders don’t realize their system is broken until they’re already in crisis mode. So let’s fix that. Here are five signs

Financial acumen is critical for all members of a leadership team, not just the head of finance. Josh and Clay review an exercise they use with clients to get teams aligned and focused on improving their cash position. Listen on: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify