The opening would frame the problem executives are facing today:
Leaders are being asked to make bigger decisions with less information than ever before. Markets shift faster. Technology changes overnight. Competitive advantages disappear almost as quickly as they’re created.
Yet many leadership teams are still waiting for certainty before they move.
That’s becoming one of the biggest competitive risks organizations face.
During my conversation with George Barrios, former co-president of WWE and author of Sometimes Wrong But Never in Doubt, we spent surprisingly little time talking about wrestling. Instead, we talked about conviction, preparation, failure, and why the leaders who consistently outperform aren’t necessarily the smartest people in the room. They’re the ones willing to act after doing the work, even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sometimes-wrong-but-never-in-doubt-with-george-barrios/id1262213009?i=1000771170438
Spotify:
(George’s performance review. Sometimes Wrong, But Never in Doubt. Harvard surgeon analogy. Preparation creates conviction, not personality.)
This week:
Choose one decision you’ve been postponing. Ask yourself whether you’re actually missing information—or whether you’re avoiding commitment.
This becomes a much deeper discussion than “read more.”
Cover:
becoming a student of your profession
why writing forces synthesis
why AI makes original thinking even more valuable
developing your own point of view
This week:
Write one page explaining where your industry is headed. Don’t summarize someone else’s opinion. Develop your own.
This would build on one of the strongest themes in the transcript.
Instead of waiting for:
training
mentors
permission
George argues you should:
read
observe role models
build your own expertise
let mentors find you
I think this section will resonate with your audience.
This becomes the WWE story.
Not the gossip.
The lesson.
Discuss:
public setbacks
separating identity from outcomes
reviewing what you could have done differently
keeping momentum
One of my favorite lines from George:
“Being passive creates self-doubt.”
That becomes the anchor.
This is probably the strongest strategic insight.
George explains why leaders should pursue opportunities where:
upside is enormous
downside is manageable
certainty will never arrive
Tie this directly into today’s AI environment.
Waiting has become a competitive disadvantage.
A short tactical section.
Read daily.
Write weekly.
Build your own point of view.
Move before certainty arrives.
Close on your perspective, not George’s.
Something like:
The leaders who shape markets aren’t fearless. They’re prepared.
They study longer than everyone else. They think more deeply than everyone else. Then they move before everyone else feels comfortable doing so.
Certainty has never been the requirement for leadership.
Conviction has.
Tiffani Bova is Chief Strategy and Research Officer at The Futurum Group.
Ranked for the last six years in the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, Tiffani Bova is a thought leader who Forbes says “reshapes our perception of growth.”
As both a practitioner and academic she offers a unique perspective and has helped lead the tech industry through several evolutions over her nearly 30-year career as Salesforce’s former Growth and Innovation Evangelist, and previously as a Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow at Gartner and a sales, marketing and customer service executive for start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of two Wall Street Journal bestsellers: GrowthIQ and The Experience Mindset.
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