Cameron HeroldFounder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Training

The Dangerous Trap of Working Hard

19 Jul 2026 · 0 min

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In this brief excerpt, Cameron Herold argues that being busy or working hard does not automatically translate into productivity or effective results. He urges leaders to intentionally pause and reflect—"sharpen the saw"—to focus on strategic actions such as the flywheel approach, participation in mastermind communities, engaging with coaches, and practices like observing, disconnecting, and inspecting expectations. Without these strategic pauses, leaders may be productive on the wrong tasks, leading to wasted effort despite apparent busyness.

Being busy doesn't necessarily mean being productive. Working hard doesn't necessarily get you the same results of working smart. Taking pause and saying, hmm, maybe I can sharpen the saw, maybe I can work on the flywheel approach, maybe I can get a little more focused. If a leader doesn't have time to be strategic, to be in mastermind communities, to be spending time with coaches, to be spending time observing, disconnecting, inspecting what you expect, you might be productive, but you might be productive on the wrong stuff.