Stop Moving the Goalposts (And Start Enjoying What You've Built)
Stop Moving the Goalposts (And Start Enjoying What You've Built)
From: Michael Cruz, Foresight Insurance
Agency owners are experiencing unprecedented burnout right now. The hard market, rate increases, and tighter underwriting have created genuine operational challenges. But there's another factor contributing to this exhaustion that's entirely within our control: how we measure success.
The Gap vs. The Gain: A Framework for Sustainable Growth
Most agency owners live in what business strategist Dan Sullivan calls "The Gap" - constantly measuring themselves against an ideal that keeps moving further away. The alternative is "The Gain" - measuring progress against where you started.
Gap thinking looks like this:
You hit your revenue target and immediately raise the bar
You focus on the 20% of your business that's broken instead of the 80% that's working
You accomplish 15 tasks this week and fixate on the 3 you didn't finish
Gain thinking looks like this:
"Two years ago I was working 70-hour weeks and stressed about payroll. Now I have systems and a solid team."
"My clients trust me enough to refer their friends - that doesn't happen by accident."
"I built something that generates profit without me being the bottleneck in every decision."
The difference isn't just psychological. Gap thinking leads to burnout and poor strategic decisions. Gain thinking drives sustainable performance and clearer judgment.
How to Implement Gain-Focused Thinking Start team meetings with progress acknowledgment.
Start team meetings with progress acknowledgment. Open by asking what improved this week and what problems the team solved. This immediately shifts focus to forward momentum rather than deficiencies.
Track your actual trajectory. Pull your numbers from two years ago: revenue, client count, team size, profit margins. Most agencies have improved dramatically, but daily operations obscure this progress.
Define success within context. The market is genuinely challenging right now. What would realistic success look like this quarter given current conditions? Don't let industry benchmarks from different market cycles define your goals.
Acknowledge achievements before raising standards. When you or your team hits a target, recognize it before moving to the next objective. This creates momentum rather than exhaustion.
Build systematic gratitude practices. Weekly, document three things working well in your business. This isn't motivational fluff - it's pattern recognition that helps you replicate what's driving results.
The Strategic Value of This Approach
Gain-focused thinking improves business performance. Teams that feel acknowledged for progress perform better than those constantly focused on gaps. When you recognize what's working, you do more of it. When you're not chronically stressed about shortfalls, you make clearer strategic decisions.
The goal isn't complacency - it's sustainable growth. Agency owners who wreck profitable businesses chasing someone else's definition of success miss opportunities to build wealth and serve clients effectively.
Moving Forward
Continue growing your agency and pushing for improvement. But do it from a foundation of recognizing what you've already built rather than constantly chasing a moving target.
This week, try this: Write down three specific ways your agency is better today than it was 12 months ago. Be specific - revenue numbers, team improvements, client feedback, operational efficiency gains. Keep this list visible.
Understanding what you've accomplished doesn't make you soft. It makes you strategic.
Michael Cruz
Founder, Foresight Insurance
Helping agency owners build profitable practices without burning out