That knot in your stomach knows something
My body was right. My head was also right. The body just had more information.
The Simplicity Protocol Newsletter Issue 5
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My business partner was excited. A new collaboration was taking shape. Big potential. Good alignment on paper.
The first executive we spoke with cited the organization's values and frameworks by name, fluently and precisely. It's rare to see that level of consistency and precision.
Then: a quiet flash in my throat and gut. Brief. Easy to dismiss.
My head was saying, "Wow, they're really bought in." My body was registering something else. (I didn't know what yet. Just that it was registering.)
The second meeting with a different executive told me more. Same frameworks. Same language. Verbatim. Same phrasing, same cadence. My head registered coherence: two leaders in alignment. Good sign. My throat and gut registered again. Same location. Same sensation.
Hmm. Something's off.
They were so consistent it had become automatic. Scripted. The conviction I observed was pure memorization on repeat.
I couldn't articulate what felt wrong. I just knew something was. So I held the data. Didn't act on it. Didn't dismiss it either. Just noticed and waited.
A few weeks later, the collaboration abruptly ended. The culture's operating style didn't match ours. The specifics don't matter here. What matters is this: my body was right.
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