Chaos isn’t Failure
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
Chaos isn’t failure—it’s feedback your business is giving you.
Tension is normal. Every business feels it—even the most successful ones.
Look for signals in metrics, feedback, and gut instinct.
Tie tension to something real: a metric, a value, or your mission.
Beware of cognitive biases (confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacy, anchoring, availability heuristic).
Focus on processes you can control—not outcomes you can’t.
A good solution you implement is better than the perfect solution you never act on.
It Wasn’t What They Thought…
I was once brought in to help reduce chaos in a business. It seemed like a great opportunity—I was excited to dive in.
But reality hit fast: the biggest chaos wasn’t coming from vendors or the market.
It was right at the top.
The leadership team was drowning in ego, fear, favoritism, and messy ownership.
The real punchline?
They couldn’t (or wouldn’t) face the real problem. But you can.
Why Chaos Isn’t Failure
Chaos is frustrating for owners, employees, customers, and even vendors.
But here’s the key:
Chaos isn’t failure. Chaos is feedback.
It’s simply information about where your systems, values, or mission are out of alignment. And if you can see it, you can fix it.
Tension Is Normal
Every business has challenges. Tension is normal.
Even Apple—one of the most successful companies in history—is struggling to find its footing with AI while competitors leap ahead.
If you feel tension in your business, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re paying attention.
Where to Look for Signals
Chaos shows up in three places:
Metrics – revenue, gross profit, net profit, NPS, customer acquisition, overhead
Feedback – overloaded teams, late AP/AR, inconsistent processes, favoritism, lack of opportunity
Gut – that nagging feeling you have as an “internal employee” asking for help
Once you spot the tension, tie it to something real: a measurable outcome, your values, or your mission.
Focus on What You Can Control
Here’s the catch: you can’t control outcomes. However, you can control your processes, consistency, and habits.
The trick is to avoid falling into common mental traps:
Confirmation Bias – only seeing what confirms your beliefs
Sunk Cost Fallacy – sticking with something just because you’ve “already invested too much”
Anchoring Bias – basing decisions on the first information you come across
Availability Heuristic – treating the most recent seminar or article as the universal solution
Instead, ask deep questions:
What would keep this from working?
What other solutions should I consider?
Remember: a good solution you implement is better than a perfect solution you never do.
A Hard Lesson Learned
When I look back at that client engagement, the problem wasn’t external chaos—it was leadership.
Their actions weren’t aligned with the company’s stated values or mission. And cognitive biases kept them blind to their own “stuff.”
In the end, we parted ways. Without a willingness to address root causes, their chaos will continue.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to stay stuck in that pattern.
A Practical Takeaway
Feeling tension in your business?
Tie it to something you can act on: a metric, a value, or your mission.
Watch out for cognitive biases.
Use thoughtful questioning to stay objective.
Your Next Move
If this article gave you something to think about—or something to work on—forge your own unique flow forward.
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Final Thought
Thanks for reading this edition of Processing Out Chaos.
Until next time, let’s roll up our sleeves and keep bringing order to chaos.
