Who > What
Every strategy conversation eventually drifts toward what: What are we building? What’s next? What’s the plan?
But the best leaders start with who. Because no matter how brilliant the plan, the wrong people will break it. And the right people can make even a mediocre plan sing. The “what” is the playbook. The “who” is the players. And in every game that matters — the players decide the outcome.
Patterns I See
Talent blind spots: Leaders obsess over deliverables and ignore the human infrastructure.
Culture bypass: Strategy gets built in a vacuum, without the people who’ll actually live it.
Hero dependency: A few “rockstars” prop up a system that’s quietly brittle.
Fit confusion: Smart, capable people placed in the wrong context — the right tool in the wrong hands.
What Leaders Miss
People aren’t interchangeable parts; they’re the system.
You don’t scale culture by hiring faster — you scale it by hiring truer.
Character, chemistry, and calling beat credentials every time.
If you get the who right, the what evolves naturally.
If you get the who wrong, you’ll spend your life rewriting the what.
Great leaders build rosters before roadmaps. They invest in alignment before execution. They ask, “Who needs to be in this conversation?” before “What should we do next?”
Working With It
Audit your lineup. Who actually carries the culture? Who drains it?
Re-anchor around people. Every decision, plan, or product exists to serve or shape someone. Name them.
Hire for alignment, train for skill. The reverse rarely works.
Build shared ownership. When people see themselves in the story, execution becomes effortless.
Questions Worth Asking
Who’s missing from this table — and why?
Who do I trust enough to tell me the truth?
Who am I developing that could replace me someday?
Who would still follow if the title disappeared?
Field Truth
Strategy starts with what.
Wisdom starts with who.
And who you build with determines what you’re building, whether you mean to or not.
