Comfort Kills: Change the Rhythm or Stall Out

In my role I often have to observe the natural rhythms of organizations. The operating rhythm of a company, whatever it may be, is built to support the core business. Recurring meetings, committees, roll-ups, approvals. Regular rhythm works for maintaining what you already have, but that rhythm won't generate real progress in new domains. 

Standing up a new revenue line, establishing a different business model, or expanding into a new market requires a deliberate shift. The rhythm won’t change on its own. Someone has to call it, and then do it.

The shift is in the kind of work you do together. Instead of slotting new topics into existing forums, you move into a more creative and generative space: smaller groups, sharper questions, a focus on creating possibility. The old rhythm sustains; a different rhythm builds.

Inside this work are linked outputs. You frame the problem in plain terms, which requires people’s thinking to collide. On that canvas you map the opportunity space so possibilities are held up to each other. You filter, because not everything matters now, sequence is something you set. You test assumptions, but in discrete checkpoints that pull you forward materially while staying close enough to build momentum. Too far and its too complex to observe progress. Too short and you get noise. 

In practice, this work is most effectively processed in-person. Being together, sleeves rolled up, in physical, three-dimensional space forces a different kind of attention. The rhythm feels different, and people hold the work differently. There is more collaboration, transparency, and creative possibility. Less bias, distraction, and desk dumping. Asynch and digital collaboration rarely create that same playing field. 

The most dangerous instinct though is mistaking motion for progress. Making dust fly on calendars and team meetings makes it feel like something is happening, but if the problem isn’t clear and choices aren’t visible, you’re still in the old rhythm. You haven’t put enough force on the opportunity to generate yield.

Leaders out of tune lean toward comfort. They add voices, extend timelines, keep familiar structures in place while introducing new topics. It feels safer, but it dilutes the work. The harder but more productive move is the opposite: strip away, shrink the group, get stuck in, shorten the distance to each decision.

Once you’ve done that, the organization begins to learn. People recognize when a new rhythm is needed. They know how to enter it again without waiting for permission. That repetition compounds into muscle memory, turning expansion into a repeatable part of the toolkit.

The next time you set out to open new ground, decide whether you’re keeping the old beat or creating a new one, and how you are going to go about bringing a band together.