Earned, Not Claimed: What Still Drives Me

My dad used to talk to me about “failing up.”

How, in the real world, it’s often easier to promote someone out of a role than to fire them. And how some people, even when they underperform, still manage to keep climbing.

At the same time, he drilled something very different into me:

You outwork the next person.
You own your mistakes.
You stay hungry—because someone better is always out there.

It’s been hard to reconcile those two truths.

The Frustration That Fuels Me

I’ve seen both sides. Up close. Too many times.

I’ve personally seen leaders in senior roles who didn’t understand the basics of the domains they were responsible for. Not deep specialization—just the 101s. The kind of foundational clarity that should be a prerequisite to owning strategy, let alone leading teams.

They were often sharp in other ways: navigating org dynamics, managing up, surrounding themselves with people who did know the work. But as a product leader—and now as a consultant—I’ve been brought in more than once to help clean up the aftermath. Or to quietly deliver the clarity that was missing from the start.

The Work Does Speak (But Not Always Loud Enough)

This isn’t a pity party. I’ve delivered results. I’ve helped companies move faster, smarter, and with more clarity than they thought possible.

At Sotheby’s, when competitors started copying our platform, our content structure, even our frontend flow—I smiled. If they’re chasing us, we’re leading.

At A Place for Mom, we saw the same thing: competitors tried to mimic our UX improvements and customer data strategy. But they couldn’t replicate the why. Their copies were disconnected and shallow. Expensive facades that looked like progress but didn’t perform like it.

That’s the thing.

You can’t just steal the output.
You have to earn the insight behind it.

Expertise Can’t Be Faked Forever

I’ve spent too much time helping people maintain the illusion of expertise. Propping up ideas they don’t fully understand. Translating jargon into action because someone in the room doesn’t have the experience to do it themselves.

And while I love teaching and mentoring—and I do—I’ve grown tired of seeing performative leadership take up space meant for the real thing.

Because when you really know what you're doing, the work doesn’t just ship—it compounds. It creates momentum. And that momentum shows up in measurable ways: revenue, retention, efficiency, brand lift, audience trust.

You can’t fake that part.

What Still Drives Me

I’m not done.

I want another seat at the table—not just to be in the room, but to lead it. To build alongside people who actually care about the craft, the impact, and the people doing the work.

And yeah, it stings when you see people leapfrog ahead who can’t explain the strategy they’re executing. Who borrow someone else’s deck, lift someone else’s playbook, and mistake articulation for originality.

But that sting has also become fuel.

Because if the work does speak for itself, I’m going to keep letting it.
Louder. Clearer. With more proof than posture.

And if that’s not enough on its own?

I’ll still keep building.

Because I know what’s possible when competence leads the way.

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Thanks for reading,

Doug

Photo by Fumiaki Hayashi on Unsplash