Refraction. The “incoming signal” (market data or team feedback) is passing through a “distorting medium” (the leader’s fear or bias). Just as a stick looks bent in water, reality looks warped when viewed through anxiety.
// CORE OBSERVATION
You cannot manage what you are misinterpreting. When an organisation is under stress, the “felt reality” of the team diverges from the “actual reality,” leading to decisions based on ghosts rather than data.
Refraction. The “incoming signal” (market data or team feedback) is passing through a “distorting medium” (the leader’s fear or bias). Just as a stick looks bent in water, reality looks warped when viewed through anxiety.
Managing by Anxiety. You see the organisation responding to projected threats rather than actual conditions. A minor dip in performance leads to a “panic slash” of budgets. The leader is fighting a war that isn’t actually happening.
Reactionary Damage. The organisation inflicts self-harm. By solving “ghost problems,” you create real ones. You burn through reserves and trust to protect against a threat that was merely a trick of the light.
Filling the “Narrative Vacuum” requires grounding your aspirations in operational reality. Order a customised Coherence Snapshot—an automated diagnostic delivered immediately—to indicate where decoupled goals are obstructing your present and future. This diagnostic helps you build the necessary “bridge” of next steps to convert hope into measurable movement.