Time Wasted on Unsolved Problems

We wasted $25K building features nobody used. At the time, I thought I was being "customer obsessed." I kept repeating the mantra: "Listen to your customers." So when prospects said: "We need more control knobs in deployment pipelines," I didn’t question it. I imagined: - Checks for every edge case - Rollout controls that screamed "enterprise-ready" - Config overrides for power users Weeks of engineering later, we launched. And then… nothing. No adoption. No excitement. No value. We hadn’t solved their problem. We’d just built what they asked for. The real pain wasn’t "give us more control knobs." It was "make deployments default safer." That subtle distinction cost us $25K. Now, before we write a single line of code, we force ourselves to ask: 1/ What problem is really behind this request? 2/ Why do you believe this solves it? 3/ What happens if we do nothing? The mistake stung. But it rewired how we build forever. 👉 Lesson: Customer asks are optional. Customer pain is mandatory.

"We're too busy to improve!" The most expensive lie in business. I hear this excuse everywhere: - Coffee shops too busy to fix their slow ordering system - Restaurants too busy to train staff properly   - Offices too busy to organize their filing systems - Factories too busy to eliminate waste Here's the uncomfortable truth: Being too busy to improve is exactly why you're too busy. Let me break this down: Your current chaos is self-created. ↳ Firefighting the same problems weekly ↳ Redoing work because it wasn't done right ↳ Searching for things that should be organized ↳ Waiting for decisions that could be automated You're stuck in a hamster wheel of inefficiency. The brutal math: Time spent improving = 10x time saved later Time avoiding improvement = Same problems forever Here's how the trap works: Week 1: "Too busy to organize, we'll do it next month" Week 2: Waste 2 hours daily searching for stuff Week 3: Same searches, same waste, same stress Week 4: "Still too busy for improvements..." Result: 56 hours wasted that could have been eliminated with 4 hours of smart work. The reality check: Busy teams need improvement MORE, not less. Start microscopic: ↳ 15 minutes to identify your biggest time drain ↳ 15 minutes to think of solutions   ↳ 15 minutes to test the easiest fix I've seen 15-minute improvements save hours daily. Real example: Team spent 30 minutes daily hunting for supplies. Invested 2 hours creating a simple organization system. Now saves 2.5 hours daily. ROI: 2 hours invested = 625 hours saved annually. The question isn't "When will we have time to improve?" The question is "How can we afford not to improve?" Every day you postpone fixing problems is another day of: → Wasted time → Accumulated frustration   → Missed opportunities → Burning out your best people My challenge to you: Pick ONE thing that wastes your time daily. Spend 15 minutes fixing it today. Count the time you save tomorrow. Because the people who are "too busy to improve" are usually drowning in problems that improvement would solve. What's eating up most of your time right now?

What if you're fixing the wrong problem? Not every fire is worth putting out. We’ve all done it: poured hours into solving something, only to realize it wasn’t what really mattered. I used to fall into this trap all the time, trying to fix everything, running in circles, and wondering why nothing felt resolved. After my ADHD diagnosis, I started to see the pattern. My brain was wired to react to urgency, not importance. The real challenge? Learning to pause, step back, and focus on what actually needed my energy. Here’s what’s helped me: 1. Spot the Workarounds: Look for where you or others are spending way too much time or effort. That’s usually where the real problem hides. 2. Ask Better Questions: Instead of jumping in, ask, “What have I (or others) already tried to fix this?” If the answer is “not much,” it’s probably not a priority. 3. Track Patterns: What led to the current solution? Often, the moments that pushed someone to act reveal the deeper issue. 4. Test and Validate: Rank challenges or have others rank theirs. Their reasoning will often tell you what’s actually worth fixing. I know how hard it is to step back when your brain is screaming, "Just fix this now!" But slowing down and asking these questions has saved me countless hours and so much frustration. ♻️ Know someone who’s running themselves ragged fixing everything at once? Share this with them - they might need this reminder today.

When I worked at JL Audio, they used simple checks and balances on the production line to dramatically lower defects and improve product quality. Every operator double-checked the previous person’s work before starting theirs. Yes, it took extra time. But the result? A massive drop in defects at the end of the line. That same principle can be applied to your custom integration firm. Build checks and balances into your process…especially in the moments that could derail a project downstream. The pushback I always hear is: “We don’t have time to slow down.” Ok, I get it…but ask yourself… • How long does it take to review a proposal with a teammate before sending it to a client to make sure what you sold can be delivered? • How long does it take to review a project before production starts with the team members intalling it to ensure what was sold can actually be delivered? • How long does it take to sit with your team to review active projects so you can get ahead instead of constantly reacting? Now ask yourself… • How many internal change orders that you can’t bill for are created because no one reviewed the proposal first? • How many non-billable days onsite happen because the team didn’t fully understand what was sold? • How many extra truck rolls are wasted because the project was called “done” too early? You do have the time. You’re just spending it later…fixing preventable problems that cost more money, more hours, and more frustration. Make time now, or waste time later. The choice is yours, the solution is simple.

I lost time on this project. Recently, I worked on the backend of an EdTech startup,and I lost a lot of time due to a major issue: poor communication between teams. Backend, frontend, and business were not always aligned, which led to unnecessary back-and-forth and wasted time on avoidable adjustments. For example: The APIs returned data in a format different from what the frontend expected. We constantly had to modify endpoints due to unclear or changing specs. The lack of clear documentation slowed down the integration of new features. Lessons learned: -------------------------- 🔘 Define clear API contracts from the start using Postman. 🔘 Set up an efficient workflow (Jira, Slack) to keep teams in sync. 🔘 Automate integration tests to prevent bugs between the backend and frontend. Good communication and well-structured documentation can save weeks on a project! Have you ever faced this kind of challenge? How do you handle it in your projects? 🏄🏻♂️

A company I worked with lost 6 months chasing a hire for the wrong job. The recruiter posted for a Business Analyst and spent hours sifting through resumes and presenting candidates, only to have the hiring team reject each one. When the operations team finally identified a candidate they liked, the IT team rejected them.  After 6 months, the recruiter was at wit’s end. I held a meeting with the operations and IT teams to see if everyone could get on the same page. My question:  “What is it that you need this person to accomplish for you?” The answer:  “We need someone who can explain to the engineers how to set up Peoplesoft so it follows the processes we already have.” When the engineer in the room shook her head, I asked her why. She said, “That’s not a Business Analyst.  That’s a Peoplesoft Analyst.” The hiring team visibly deflated as they realized how much time they had wasted and how much productivity had been lost.  But now they had defined the problem. The recruiter posted the actual job and was able to identify candidates based on whether they could solve the problem. And the hiring team found a capable candidate in just a few weeks. If you don’t first define the problem that needs to be solved, you’ll waste time, lose productivity, and cause frustrations. Before you hire, make sure to define the problem you’re trying to solve. ♻ to inspire your network. 🔔 for more posts like this.

Most founders waste 5+ hrs p/w solving the WRONG problems. Here’s how to stop doing that. If you’ve ever: – Spent weeks refining a workflow – Hired a VA to “get out of the weeds” – Tried new tools to feel more productive … only to still feel buried? You’re not alone. Here’s what I see constantly: 1. Hiring a VA to chase tasks — when there’s no decision capture system. 2. Buying project tools — when inputs are split across five inboxes. 3. Automating emails — before mapping conversion paths. The real problem? We fix symptoms instead of systems. That’s why in the Lab, we use a diagnostic process: → Map pain points to leverage points → Match effort to actual bottlenecks It starts with 3 questions: 1. Where is time leaking? 2. What’s missing at the moment of action? 3. What system would make this repeatable? Reminder: AI doesn’t solve complexity. It solves repeatability. One founder realized they didn’t need content automation. They needed decision clarity on what to post, when, and why. So we built an assistant that: → Flagged top-performing themes → Summarized replies → Prepped 3 content ideas weekly — in their voice Outcome? → 7+ hours/week recovered → Clear direction → No more guesswork Clarity always comes before scale. What's one part of your business that feels frustrating no matter what you try? Drop it below: I’ll show you how I’d diagnose it. Enjoy this post? ♻️ Repost to help a founder stop fixing the wrong thing 🔔 Follow Ronnie Parsons for more clarity-driven systems

Your team is burning $1.48M a year on duplicate work. And you probably don't even know it. I analyzed productivity data from 500+ companies last month. Here's what I found: Your marketing team is recreating assets that already exist. Your developers are solving problems someone cracked months ago. Your sales team? They're rebuilding presentations from scratch. The numbers are shocking: • 2.5 hours per employee per week spent on duplicate work • $40.87 average hourly rate • $51,000 wasted every week • $1.48M burned annually But money isn't the worst part. It's killing your team's morale. It's missing deadlines. It's suffocating innovation. Here's how to fix it: 𝟭. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 • Pick one tool (Confluence, Notion, Drive) • Create clear folder structures • Make it accessible to everyone 𝟮. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Replace status updates with alignment checks • Ask "What should others know about?" • Share wins and roadblocks 𝟯. 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 • Track duplicate work for 1 week • Find the process gaps • Fix ownership issues 𝟰. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 • Template repeated tasks • Set up auto-reporting • Create shared dashboards Start here: Pick one department. Track duplicate work for 7 days. The results will shock you. What's the biggest time-waster in your team? Drop it below 👇