The Shortcut

The Hotpot | December 2025 | By Lisanne

5.12

Sometimes the easiest way to see if something is working is in the small choices employees make.

Employees steer what sells, how customers feel, how the culture breathes, and whether a strategy survives contact with reality.

When they believe in what you’re building, things accelerate almost effortlessly. When they don’t, the slowdown is immediate.

They’re also the earliest warning sign. If your own people stop using, trusting, or liking what the company offers, it’s usually a preview of what the market will do next.

You could say employees are the engine of execution. A brilliant strategy means nothing if the people carrying it out aren’t convinced. Your employees are the pulse of your company, making them the perfect clarity metric.

They’re close enough to feel the product’s promise and its cracks.
Close enough to sense whether the mission is oxygen or marketing.
Close enough to know if the culture is real or just a slogan taped to a wall.

If your employees aren’t buying what the company sells, even when it’s on discount, it’s a signal louder than any KPI.

What doesn’t resonate internally rarely resonates externally. If the product, the mission, or the culture doesn’t land with the people who live closest to it, the market won’t save you.

So, watch what people actually choose. Ask patiently. That honesty is often a shortcut to knowing what needs fixing.

Thanks for reading! The journal prompt of today:

Once you’ve tried this trick, what did you learn?

Let me know in the comments.

Curious to see more reflections like this? Click through to see the rest of the series on entrepreneurship. I’d love to hear what resonates with you.