And what separates those who scale from those who stall

I’ve worked with founders and professionals for over 35 years—across industries, cultures, and continents. And if there’s one truth I’ve come to expect, it’s this:

Every ambitious person eventually hits a wall.

You might recognize it. You’ve built something. You’ve proven it works. You’re running the show—but somehow, the show starts running you.

It’s not burnout, exactly. It’s not boredom. It’s a deep, underlying frustration that the momentum you once had has started to stall. You’re still doing the work—but the progress feels foggy, fragile, and harder than it should be.

That’s the wall.

The Wall Looks Different for Everyone

For some, it’s decision fatigue. For others, it’s team friction, missed revenue, or the realization that “more effort” is no longer a winning strategy.

It often shows up as too many meetings, too little clarity, and the sneaky suspicion that you’re making it up as you go.

You’re not alone in that.

Most of the founders and executives I work with are exceptionally bright, capable people. But there’s a limit to how far talent, effort, and instinct can take you—especially when you’re leading a growing business or team.

What We Get Wrong About Growth

The myth we buy early in our careers is this:

“If I just work harder, I’ll figure it out.”

It’s a noble idea—and it’s usually true at first. But over time, complexity scales faster than effort. What worked at five people breaks at fifteen. What worked when you were the rainmaker fails when you delegate.

Growth is not linear. And it’s rarely logical.
What you need next isn’t more motivation or even more information.

What you need is a better structure for making things happen with and through other people.

What’s Really Going On

Most people think they’re facing a productivity problem, a leadership problem, or a time problem. But underneath it, there’s almost always a transaction problem—an invisible misalignment in the exchanges that drive their business forward:

• Misunderstood expectations

• Poor follow-through

• Vague agreements

• Unspoken assumptions

• Hidden resistance

We’re not taught to think in terms of transactions—not the real kind. Not the messy, human kind. But they’re everywhere. And they are the reason things move…or don’t.

What I’ve Learned (the Hard Way)

After three decades of teaching and working alongside professionals trying to make something meaningful happen, I’ve learned this:

The most satisfied, high-functioning founders and teams I know have one thing in common: They take their transactions seriously. They design their days around cooperation. They train themselves to be specific. They learn how to initiate, shape, and complete the exchanges that get results. They build agreements that hold. They reduce friction without losing speed. And they stop trying to carry the whole business on their own shoulders.

A Final Word

If you’ve hit the wall, you haven’t failed. You’ve reached the natural limit of your current way of operating. That’s not a crisis—it’s a signal.

The next stage of growth doesn’t demand more of you. It demands a different you. One that is structured, practiced, and equipped to move in concert with others—not just in bursts of inspiration or brute force.

My advice? Take a beat. Look around. And start paying attention to the exchanges that make or break your progress.

Because in the end, it’s not what you know—it’s how you move things forward with others that shapes the course of your career.

Author
John Patterson
Cofounder and CEO
INFLUENTIAL U
John Patterson steers the ship at Influential U, boldly challenging the traditional, often myopic views of success in our hyper-individualistic era. He isn’t afraid to poke fun at the archaic obsession with attributing every win or loss to single actors, calling out the industry’s penchant for oversimplified 'transactional' comprehension. Leading a crack team dedicated to innovating businesses and business ecosystems, John is all about integrating the personal with the whole system—because, let’s face it, no one wins alone.