Making Change Stick: How to Solve What’s Worth Solving—and Know When to Stop

Last week, we dove into what separates quick fixes from progress that actually lasts. We talked about the real story behind change: it’s not about piling on new tools or advice. It’s about finding simplicity, partnering for clarity, and moving forward in a way that fits your business for the long haul.

Today, let’s go even deeper. How do you know which problems really deserve your time and focus? And how do you recognize when it’s smarter to walk away, instead of pushing harder on something that just won’t gel?

Solve What’s Worth Solving

A few years ago, I got excited about an “efficiency” app—one that let me type a few letters and auto-insert my Zoom link into any email. I spent a fair chunk of time searching, testing alternatives, setting it up, and learning the keyboard magic. It felt clever… but then I realized how often I actually used it. Maybe a handful of times a week—not nearly enough for all that hassle.

It taught me a valuable lesson: just because something is “fixable” doesn’t mean it’s worth fixing. The best uses of your resources are the ones that free up real energy, real hours, or meaningful revenue.

🎯 Actionable Tip:
Before you chase the next tool or workflow, ask:
– Will this save me at least an hour a week?
– Will it remove a frequent sticking point or bottleneck?

If the answer isn’t a resounding yes, it’s probably not the right priority yet.

🚫 Avoid This: 

Don’t get caught in the trap of fixing what isn’t really broken. That’s a surefire way to burn energy and stall bigger progress.

Know When to Stop: The Power of Pulling the Plug

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do for your business is to admit something just isn’t working.

We learned this first-hand with a new client portal. On paper, it sounded fantastic—a central hub for our clients to access information and request help. We poured hours into setting it up, moving from stage to stage, always hoping the next round of tweaks would pull it together.

But as we kept working, the portal just wasn’t coming together the way we expected. When we finally demoed it to a client, their reaction was lukewarm—they weren’t really interested, and it was clear we were missing the mark. That was our wake-up call: time to cut our losses.

The portal wasn’t as helpful and effective as we thought. Walking away wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. We saved valuable resources and energy by making the call early—allowing us and our clients to keep things simpler and more effective.

💡 Key Insight:
Saying “enough” isn’t failure—it’s smart leadership. The sunk cost fallacy has tricked many teams into throwing good energy after bad. You don’t have to be one of them.

Mapping Progress: The Visual Framework

So, how do you decide what’s truly worth your time—and chart a path that avoids the usual pitfalls?

Here’s the framework I use with clients (and for our own internal projects):

• Start by drawing two points:    
  – Where you are right now.   
  – Where you’d like to end up (what does success look like?).
• In between those points, sketch out every real obstacle:    
  – Maybe it’s unclear roles.   
  – Maybe it’s legacy habits or over-complicated steps.   
  – Maybe it’s that sneaky urge to chase “perfection” instead of real progress.
• Then, draw your route:   
  – What’s the next milestone you can realistically hit?   
  – What small experiments or pilots will help you learn what actually works, before you invest big?

When clients walk through this with me—sometimes literally sketching on paper or a whiteboard—the fog lifts. Progress gets mapped out, and suddenly, the path through the messy middle feels clear and manageable.

🧩 Good Fit:
Try this mapping exercise on your own with any stubborn area—tech, sales, onboarding, wherever you’re stuck. Or, if you’d like a guide, let’s tackle it together. This is what I do every day.

Progress Is the Friend, Perfection the Foe

Here’s the pattern I see again and again among leaders and teams who succeed: They’re less obsessed with making everything flawless, and more committed to making meaningful, cumulative progress.

They pick their battles. They know what’s truly worth fixing. And, maybe most importantly, they’re not afraid to call time out on things that no longer serve their vision.

Embrace change—but only when it truly moves you forward.

Ready to Map Your Next Step?

What’s the one untapped opportunity in your business—tech, workflow, sales, anything—that, if improved, could give you the biggest lift?

Let’s map your journey from here to there, piece by piece, obstacle by obstacle, using my proven framework.

Progress is always the win. 
Perfection? Let’s leave that to the lawyers and their fine print.

👉 If you’re ready for a breakthrough, let’s connect. I’ll help you pin point exactly where you are, what’s in the way, and how to take bold steps forward—without wasting energy on what doesn’t matter.