Newsletter #59 - Are You Adding Too Much Value?

Are You Adding Too Much Value?

Someone on your team presents their plan for improving funnel conversion. It's 85% perfect.

You know exactly how to get it to 95%. One small tweak. One tiny addition.

Stop.

Marshall Goldsmith, who coaches Fortune 500 CEOs, discovered something counterintuitive. When you improve someone's idea by 10%, their commitment to execute can drop by 50%.

Why? Because now it's your idea wearing their name tag.

Think of this equation instead: Effectiveness = Quality × Commitment

An 85% idea with full ownership beats a 95% idea they're halfheartedly executing.

We see this often at Athena. The executive who rewrites every email draft their assistant sends. The founder who tweaks every process their team creates. The leader who adds "one small suggestion" to every project.

They're unintentionally creating learned helplessness. Teams stop thinking deeply because they know the boss will "fix" it anyway.

The wise leader pauses before commenting. They bite their tongue. They choose 85% excellence with 100% ownership.

Your team will find that missing 15% themselves. They'll discover improvements you never imagined. They'll develop judgment you can actually trust.

But only if you resist the urge to add your two cents.

Your Holiday Travel Playbook

Most people treat travel planning like an administrative task. Book the flight, reserve the hotel, move on.

They're missing 90% of what's possible.

Your assistant can be the one finding restaurants that locals love. Hotel room upgrades. The driver who knows which route avoids holiday traffic. Which falafel place in La Marais is the real deal. The Fuji glamping resort with the s’mores bar.

Here are three ways to delegate travel planning:

1. At-a-Glance Itinerary (family visits, weekend getaways)
   Simple spreadsheet. Date, time, activity, notes. Color-coded for confirmed vs. tentative. Quick facts section with hotel address, confirmation numbers. Everything you need, zero fluff.
2. Hour-by-Hour Guide (conference trips, multiple holiday parties)
   Hour-by-hour breakdown with exact timing. Travel times between locations mapped. Buffer for delays built in. Alternative options for each activity. Critical timings highlighted. Contact information for every venue. You're never late, never stressed.
3. Complete Travel Playbook (international holidays, extended stays)
   Complete intelligence package. Cultural context and customs briefing. Neighborhood breakdowns. Restaurant recommendations with specific menu highlights. Daily and weekly schedule views. Emergency contacts. Weather contingencies. Both quick-reference pages and detailed breakdowns.

Stop restricting travel delegation to only bookings. Start treating it like having a local friend in every city who happens to know your preferences perfectly.

Check out the full 3 methods for delegating holiday travel here.