It's remarkable how a few misunderstood words can send people into a full correction of the imagination. Before you assume you know what someone meant, zoom out and look at the bigger picture.

Take a good look around your little corner of the universe. What promise can you make today, not the grand, dramatic kind that fizzles out by Thursday, but the small, strategic kind that actually moves the needle?

The important question to ask today: Before making a decision today, ask yourself: Is this strategic, or just urgent? If it doesn’t move the needle in three months, it doesn’t deserve center stage now.