This week felt like one long reminder of something most founders learn the hard way.

You can build a business with hustle.
You cannot scale a business with hustle.

At some point, hustle turns into handcuffs.

Not because you got lazy. Not because you lost your edge. But because the business outgrows the stage where you can be the answer to everything.

I call it the approval trap. You might call it “being involved.” Same thing.

If you have been feeling like your business is moving, but it is not moving forward, this is usually the reason. You are running hard… while dragging the system behind you.

So this roundup is built around one idea:

If you are the bottleneck, the fix is not more effort. It’s better structure.

Let’s get into it.

Link: https://www.emyth.com/

This book is not trendy. It is not new. It is not flashy. That is exactly why it still works.

It’s basically a mirror held up to the founder who is quietly drowning while pretending they are fine.

The big idea is simple:

Most businesses are started by technicians.
People who are good at the thing.
Then they wake up one day owning a company that requires skills they never trained for.

Now you are managing people, client expectations, delivery, systems, marketing, sales, cash flow, and your own emotions, all in the same week.

If you do not build the “business side” of the business, you end up with a company that is basically powered by one thing.

Your nervous system.

That’s the trap. When the founder is the system, everything runs… until the founder is tired, distracted, sick, traveling, or simply not in the mood to absorb chaos for a living.

What I like about Gerber is that he makes the goal painfully clear:

Build it like it should be able to run without you. Even if you never leave.

Not because you want to disappear.
Because you want options.

And options are what create peace.

If you take one thing from the book, take this:
Your job is not to be the hero. Your job is to build the environment where heroics are unnecessary.

Link: https://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey

This is one of the best business metaphors ever written.

The monkey is the problem. The task. The next action.

A team member walks in with a monkey. They ask for help. You think you’re being a good leader, so you “handle it.” You take the monkey.

Now you own the follow-up, the tracking, the outcome, and the mental overhead.

Do that ten times a day and you become the zoo.

If you have ever wondered why your team “can’t figure things out,” this article will make you realize something uncomfortable:

They can figure things out.
They just learned you will carry it.

The fix is not being harsher. It’s being clearer about ownership and next actions.

My filter after reading this:
Every time someone brings me a monkey, I ask, “What do you want to do next?”

Not “What should we do?”
What do you want to do next?

It forces responsibility to stay where it belongs.

Link: https://hbr.org/2012/10/to-get-ahead-learn-to-delegate

Delegation is one of those words that founders say like they mean it, while doing the exact opposite.

“Yeah, I delegate.”
Translation: “I assign tasks and then re-check everything.”

That is not delegation. That is supervision with extra steps.

This article is a good reminder that delegation is not about dumping work you do not want to do. It is about developing people so the business does not depend on your constant involvement.

The piece is especially helpful if you struggle with the emotional side of delegation, which is usually one of these:

That last one stings for a reason.

Link: https://www.npr.org/2015/09/22/442582422/the-cost-of-interruptions-they-waste-more-time-than-you-think

If your workday feels like eight hours of motion and zero progress, read this.

Most founders are not struggling because they “lack discipline.” They are struggling because their environment is built to destroy focus.

Interruptions steal more than the moment. They steal re-entry time. You lose the thread. You lose momentum. You lose deep work.

The killer is that founders often invite interruptions without realizing it.

It feels helpful. It is expensive.

If you want leverage, you need time blocks where the business cannot reach you unless something is on fire.

Most things are not on fire.
They just feel like it.

Link: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this

Apple Podcasts link (if that’s your default):
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297

I listen to this show for one reason.

It reminds me that the founders we admire did not win because they were superhuman. They won because they eventually stopped being the central nervous system of the company.

When you listen, don’t just listen for the origin story.

Listen for:

That’s the part that matters if you are in the messy middle.

Artist link hub: https://ansonseabra.lnk.to/peterpanwasright

Spotify search link (easy to open and pick your preferred version):
https://open.spotify.com/search/Peter%20Pan%20Was%20Right%20Anson%20Seabra

This track is one of those “quietly wreck you a little” songs if you actually listen to the lyrics. It’s reflective without being dramatic, and it is perfect background for a Friday walk where you’re thinking about what you built this year and what you’re dragging into next year.

FX official page: https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-bear

This show is basically a stress test for leadership, systems, and bottlenecks.

Watch it like a founder and you will see the pattern:

It’s entertaining, but it’s also a reminder: talent is not a substitute for structure.

What it is: relationship intelligence that helps you track, maintain, and strengthen the relationships that matter, without turning your life into a spreadsheet.

If your business grows through relationships, referrals, partnerships, or long-term trust, you need something better than “I’ll remember to follow up.”

Here’s my link (includes a 30-day Pro trial):
https://littlebird.ai/download?utm_medium=referral&source=invite_link&referralcode=ZGFuQHBpbm5hY2xlbWFzdGVycy5jb20=

What it is: a personal CRM that helps you keep context on people and conversations so follow-up becomes natural, not awkward.

Clay is useful if you want to stay relational while also being organized. It keeps the “who, where, and why it matters” from living only in your head.

Here’s my link (includes a free 30-day Pro trial):
https://clay.earth/?via=dan-kaufman

The Compass OS: 2026 Notion Tracking Dashboard + Journal
This is the exact dashboard I use to track my life daily (for the last 10 years), rebuilt in Notion, plus the journal format I’ve used for the last 10 years.

Presale is $17 (January 1st it becomes $97).
Comment “COMPASS” and I will get you the details

Write down the last 10 approvals that crossed your desk.

Then label each one:

If almost everything is Level 1, that is your problem.

Then pick one repeated approval and create a one-page decision guide:

Hand it to your team and say, “This is yours now.”

You will feel the itch to take it back.
That itch is the approval trap trying to stay alive.

Most founders think the bottleneck is time.

It’s not.

The bottleneck is decision ownership.

When every meaningful decision routes through you, the business cannot scale past your attention span. And your attention span is not a moral failing. It’s a human limit.

Build a business that respects human limits.

That’s what systems are.
That’s what clarity is.
That’s what leadership becomes when it matures.

See you tomorrow.

One step, one day. Grace over guilt.