What CEOs Forget: Get Down and Dirty

Lessons from a toddler, a stick, and a patch of dirt.

I had an hour to kill with my 1.5-year-old grandson before we could visit GG. Not enough time for the park. I pulled over next to a vacant lot.

We crouched in the dirt. Dug with sticks. Inspected rocks. Built with bark. Found wildflowers. Unstuck thistles. Threw stones. Laughed.

It wasn't aimless. The point was to make the most of our time together.

That hour reminded me of a recent conversation in my Vistage CEO group — how do you lead well when the plan breaks and you're making changes while running?

Leadership doesn't always look like inspiring conversations, confident speeches, or decisive boardroom moves.

Sometimes it looks like a toddler crouched low, fully absorbed in the dirt.

Presence. Curiosity. Resourcefulness.

Right now, the business terrain is uneven. Tangled. Full of thorns.

CEOs need to dig in:

𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱.
Turn over the problem. Feel the weight of the unknown. Root yourself in the raw material your business is built on — your people, your customers, your mission.

𝗪𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗨𝗽. 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁.
Let go of outdated expectations. Get alert to what's actually unfolding. Explore, test, learn. Find what's possible in the new terrain.

𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆.
Walk the floor. Have the hard conversations. Get curious with customers. Run your hands through the data. Find the insight hiding in the dust.

𝗕𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹.
Stop resisting the moment and start working within it. Reinvent with what you have. Turn constraints into catalysts. See value in the overlooked.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅: 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆.

"Get out of the weeds" means gain perspective. Focus on systems, not symptoms. Think like a strategist.

"Get down and dirty" means rolling up your sleeves, facing what others avoid, working side-by-side with your people to understand what's broken and what's possible.

Sometimes those are the same move.

What's your version of getting your hands dirty?