When conditions deteriorate, performance depends less on heroics than on the foundation leaders have built beforehand. Rehearsing failure, simplifying critical systems and knowing when to pause can offer CEOs a practical framework for making better decisions when the pressure is highest.

Great teams aren’t powered by solo heroes—they win when people over-communicate under pressure, drop the ego and rotate in and out of the lead so the whole system can move faster together.

Few athletes embody the pursuit of perfection quite like Devon Larratt. A former member of Canada’s Special Forces (JTF2), and one of the most accomplished arm wrestlers in history, Larratt has spent decades pinning opponents who were younger, heavier, stronger, and considered unbeatable.

I’ve been lucky to speak with world-class athletes, coaches, political leaders, army generals, astronauts and CEOs. What keeps standing out to me is how often elite performance cuts across domains. The context changes, but the principles are surprisingly consistent.

Championship teams are not made by slogans, hierarchy or talent alone. They are made by great individuals who never stop learning.

The path to standing out often begins with the discipline to disappear into the training, until excellence makes you impossible to ignore.