The Ego Tax
Opinion Is Not a Strategy
They don’t say it aloud. But it’s always there.
“I don’t like the tone.”
“This doesn’t feel like me.”
“I think it should sound more…”
More what?
More comforting?
More vague?
More aligned with a self-image that’s never been tested in the market?
We’ve all heard it... the client who wants to rewrite, reshape, and redirect a performance-driven system to match their opinion. Not data. Not consequence. Not conversion.
Just opinion.
And here’s the cost: the second you allow a client’s subjective preference to override objective performance, you are no longer operating. You are enabling.
The Cult of Subjectivity
This era has created a dangerous mirage — that your opinion matters.
That your voice, your take, your instincts — untrained, untested, unverified — somehow deserve equal weight in decisions that determine outcomes.
It’s ego theatre. Disguised as leadership.
We’ve made the mistake of equating the power to pay, with the right to direct.
But money doesn’t buy method.
You can fund the machine. That doesn’t mean you know how to build it.
You can approve the design. That doesn’t mean you understand the physics behind it.
And if you believe your opinion should govern a system you didn’t design — you’re not a founder. You’re a fantasy director, auditioning reality to play by your script.
The Architecture of Irrelevance
Let’s be precise:
• Opinion cannot predict outcome.
• Opinion cannot scale.
• Opinion cannot compound.
• Opinion cannot replace testing.
What can?
Signals. Motion. Yield.
A/B test data. Conversion benchmarks. Engagement decay rates. Pipeline velocity. Lead quality variance.
That’s what determines the truth in a sales or content system. That’s what tells you what works.
Not what you feel. Not what you like.
Only what performs.
Why Founders Struggle
The highest-functioning founders understand this. Instinct is allowed only until data speaks. Then insight.
But the vast majority?
They struggle. Not because they’re stupid. But because they confuse being in the business with knowing how the business works.
They don’t see the trap. That the very identity they’re trying to protect — their personal brand, their market perception — is the anchor holding back the very growth they hired you to deliver.
They think they’re driving the ship. They don’t realise they’re drilling holes in the hull.
What To Say When It Happens
When a client comes back with “I don’t like this,” your response should never be to edit blindly.
Your response should be: “Based on what?”
And if the answer is “it just doesn’t sound like me,” your reply is simple:
“Your opinion doesn’t scale. Results do.”
You are not here to make them feel better. You are here to make them money. To move the needle. To build a system that does not break under opinion pressure.
I know, I know, not everyone is in a position to interact with a client like this... but you have to get there. Opinion breaks everything you built. And you both lose.
This Is the Truth
If you hire someone to perform — and then ask them to pivot based on your taste — you’re not buying leverage. You’re buying decoration.
That’s not strategy. That’s sabotage.
You want growth? Then accept this:
Opinion is irrelevant. Only motion matters.
So next time you catch yourself saying, “I just don’t feel like this reflects me…”
Ask: “Is this about how I feel — or about what will function?”
Because your feelings are valid.
But they are not strategic inputs.
They do not lead teams.
They do not close deals.
They do not scale businesses.
Only leverage does.
And leverage doesn’t care what you like.
This is what I’m working on. Tell me what you think, I enjoy the conversation! Subscribe and follow the work in real time.
Thanks!
B
You don’t scale by feeling seen.
You scale by surrendering taste to truth.
Opinion is not a strategy. Performance is.
PS -