Fail on Purpose? Only If You Want to Win Big

Today’s Newsletter at a Glance

• Why deliberately choosing to be bad at some things can be a competitive advantage

• The myth of “doing it all” and how it’s sabotaging your real strengths

• How to apply strategic incompetence to scale faster with less stress

Why Failing at the Right Things Can Make You Win

There’s an unspoken pressure in entrepreneurship to be good at everything.

You’re expected to be the visionary, the operator, the marketer, the tech troubleshooter, and the face of your brand...all at once. The result? A constant feeling of being stretched too thin, juggling too many roles, and falling short in all of them.

This is where Strategic Incompetence becomes a useful and liberating concept.

At its core, strategic incompetence means deliberately choosing not to develop certain skills or take on certain tasks...not because you’re lazy, but because those activities don’t align with your highest value or impact.

It’s a recognition that time and energy are limited resources. The more you invest in mastering areas that don’t significantly move the needle in your business or personal growth, the less you have to invest in what truly matters.

Consider the founder who avoids learning graphic design...not out of disinterest, but because they know their strength is in building relationships and generating ideas. Or the consultant who delegates all tech-related tasks, not because they can’t learn them, but because every hour spent troubleshooting software is one less hour spent serving clients.

In these cases, what might look like incompetence is actually a thoughtful allocation of energy.

Here’s why this matters:
When you try to be competent at everything, you dilute your effectiveness everywhere. But when you intentionally choose to be less capable in certain areas, you free yourself to become excellent in a few. That’s often where the real breakthroughs happen.

To apply this in practice, start by listing all the tasks that take up your time. Then ask:

• Which of these directly contributes to my core business goals?

• Which ones require my unique ability?

• Which tasks could be done just as well...or better...by someone else?

You don’t have to delegate everything immediately, but the goal is to begin noticing where your time and talent are being pulled in ways that don’t serve you.

Strategic incompetence isn’t about failure or avoidance. It’s about focus and discipline. It’s about giving yourself permission to not be good at everything...so you can become truly exceptional at a few key things.

And in a world where everyone is trying to do more, being selective might just be your biggest advantage.

Until next time...

Travis Cody,
Million Dollar Author

P.S. You're getting this newsletter because you're on one of my lists, most likely from our connection on LinkedIn. 

If you don't remember joining or simply don't want to hear from me,  please hit the "unsubscribe here" option.

I promise, you won't hurt my feelings.  (Ok...maybe just a little bit. 🫣)