The Special Ops Drill

 

The Special Ops Drill (3 moves, zero fluff) After listening to the podcast I immediately wanted to figure out how these tools can be applied in every day situations, not just under cover ops. So here is the revised version meant to help you develop mental fortitude to win in your career and life.   Take ten minutes for this — it’s short, but it’s the kind of reflection that gives people a breakthrough. It helps you see exactly why you might be stuck and what would truly move you forward.   1) Run the Six-Month Scenario Borrowed from the podcast adapted for corporate reality. It’s six months from now. Someone who doesn’t work as hard as you — two kids, new mortgage, a full plate — just landed the VP role you wanted.   What must have been true for them to get it? List 1–3 actions they took that you didn’t, especially the ones that make you squirm.   Examples to jog your brain: They asked a senior VP to sponsor their business case and got a yes. They ran a crisp monthly executive update that tied work to revenue, risk, and runway (not tasks). They made the ask with a clear promotion business case: scope, outcomes, impact, and why now.   If you’re thinking, “I could have done that,” exactly.   2) Name Your Success Killer High achievers don’t stall from lack of effort; they stall from comfort habits. Pick the one that’s costing you the most. Avoiding Uncertainty: You stick to “safe” execution and avoid ambiguous, political, or high-stakes rooms. Optimizing for Approval: You won’t move until everyone is happy. (Everyone is never happy.) Seeking Validation: You wait for permission or “proof” before you ship, ask, or lead.   Circle one. That’s your constraint. We’re not judging it; we’re managing it.   3) Do the Emotionally Uncomfortable Thing (This Week) Pick one move a VP would do anyway and schedule it in the next seven days.   Starter list (steal one): Sponsor Ask: “I’m building a business case for expanding X. Would you be open to advising and, if you see merit, sponsoring it for the Q1 promotion cycle?” Strategic Update: 1 slide, BLUF first: outcome → impact → decision needed. Send it before the meeting. Promotion Business Case: Draft it. Scope, metrics, org impact, timing. Put a date on the calendar to review it with your manager. Skip-Level Signal: Request 15 minutes with your skip to sanity-check priorities and surface risk. (Executives love risk mitigated.) Priority Reframe: Push back (respectfully) on a low-leverage ask with a better, business-aligned alternative.   Will this feel awkward? Yes. Is awkward the point? Also yes.   Why this works (and why “more effort” doesn’t) So many high achievers fall into the same trap — working harder to compensate for uncertainty or discomfort.   There’s a reason. Doing more gives you a sense of control. You can measure tasks. You can check boxes. You can stay busy and feel productive. But real success requires a different muscle: tolerating uncertainty while you influence outcomes.   You don’t get ahead by doing more of the same — you move up by doing what feels uncomfortable and strategic: picking bets, aligning power, making decisions, owning impact.   That’s what one of my clients discovered after ten years at the same level. Three managers came and went, and he was never considered for promotion.   When he joined my program, he already knew the playbook — be more visible, build relationships, shape direction. But knowing isn’t doing. And he wasn’t doing any of it because it was uncomfortable. It wasn’t a strategy problem. It was a courage problem.   So we started small — self-promotion in 1:1s with his manager. Then, networking with senior leaders. Eventually, direct communication with the CEO. That was the year everything shifted. The executive team finally saw his potential (including a shout-out from the CEO), and he was promoted to Senior Director.   Here’s what that story proves: Hard work scales output. Emotional courage scales opportunity. If it’s uncomfortable and business-critical, it’s probably your edge. You don’t need more proof. You need a plan — and a rep.    Anyone can execute. Few can keep showing up when it’s uncomfortable, visible, and uncertain. That’s what builds the kind of courage success demands.

Your Next Steps This week, forget perfect plans. Start with a reset to understand what might be missing right now. Then, choose one move that stretches you — the one you’ve been avoiding — and do it anyway.   It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be brave. Because success isn’t built on certainty. It’s built on emotional courage, repeated on purpose.