Rick WhitePresident and Co-Founder of 180BIZ

The 2-Letter Word That’s Shrinking Your Shop

11 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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0:58

Rick White argues that using "if" creates a mindset of passive failure, while "when" builds confidence and inevitability. Replacing "if my team shows up" with "when my team shows up" shifts how leaders think about goals and performance.

Chapters

again. This what-if is good when it leads to the next question, which is, what am I going to do about it? I need you to understand that it's a prison. This bad what-if, it doesn't protect you. It's actually training you to expect failure. What if we change the word if with the word 'when.' My numbers are going to be better when all my guys show up. Do you hear the difference there? The 'if' is waiting. The 'when' is leading. Instead of saying, 'If I build a stronger team,' you say, 'When I build a stronger team.' 'When we raise our effective labor rate.' 'When I stop tolerating average.' When assumes action. When assumes responsibility. When assumes movement.

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