Every leader knows the rush of inspiration: the all-nighter, the surge, the just one more thing moment.
Last week, I shared one of mine: the 48-hour build that became the first version of my Beyond Incremental website.
But breakthroughs don’t come from bursts of energy alone.
They come from creating systems that make that energy repeatable.
This week, I put my own framework to work: evolving the first version of my site into something more functional, while balancing client work, coaching sessions, and family responsibilities that were heavier than usual.
It wasn’t about doing more. It was about designing systems that made it possible.
I didn’t want to just talk about breakthrough leadership.
I wanted to live it.
Here’s what I discovered about how to design for breakthrough, and how you can apply it to whatever you’re building next.
Takeaway #1: Passion fuels momentum.
Every project that moves quickly starts with purpose. You can’t fake it.
When your work aligns with your authentic mission, time expands.
The week flew by because the project wasn’t “work.” It was an extension of what I care most about: helping leaders see where they’re stuck in incremental progress and how to move beyond it.
The site itself became a test case. Could I create something that helps leaders see their own patterns more clearly?
Growth starts with awareness.
I can’t wait to hear how early leaders engage with these ideas and what reflections surface for them.
Reflection: Where does your energy flow naturally? That’s usually where your next breakthrough lives.
Takeaway #2: Performance creates flow.
The faster you want to move, the more structure you need.
To build quickly, I needed clarity on what “done” looked like and which systems would get me there.
Most leaders think speed comes from pushing harder.
It doesn’t.
Breakthrough isn’t about doing more. It’s about designing systems that create a repeatable operating rhythm.
For this build, that meant:
- Notion is my thinking/writing space
- Canva for translating concepts into visual diagrams
- Kit managing the email sequences and waitlists automatically
- React + JSON as the backbone of the assessment itself
The tools didn’t unlock better performance.
Clarity did.
I knew what the site needed to do. The tools just removed friction.
Reflection: What system could you create this week that frees you to focus on your highest-value work?
The leaders who master momentum don’t add force. They remove friction.
Takeaway #3: People multiply progress.
Even when you’re working solo, you’re not.
Every breakthrough I’ve ever had came from multiplying with others, partners, peers, or, in this case, AI agents.
I treated my tools like a team: defining outcomes, giving feedback, and iterating fast.
- Claude-code (in terminal mode) transformed my Notion writing into web infrastructure and built the assessment tool.
- Windsurf paired with GPT-5 handled the heavier lifts when I hit token limits.
- WordPress stayed as the archive, cross-linking past articles into the new framework pages.
That’s what great leadership looks like, orchestrating capabilities, whether they are human or digital.
I’ve already started hearing from leaders experimenting with this same mindset, “leading” their tools the way they lead teams. That’s the conversation I’m most excited to have next.
Reflection: Who or what could you delegate to, not just to get things done, but to go further than you could alone?
Bringing It All Together
This build proved something I’ve long believed: breakthrough leadership isn’t theory. It’s a practice you can design, build, and test.
When People, Performance, and Passion align, momentum compounds.
That’s when the impossible starts to look inevitable.
The site I built, BeyondIncremental.com, is now live. It’s a living lab where early leaders are testing the ideas behind Breakthrough Leadership in real time.
It includes early access to the Breakthrough Leadership Assessment, a tool that shows you where your own momentum is strongest and where it needs a boost.
In just a few minutes, you’ll discover:
- Which of the nine breakthrough skills are already your strengths
- Where you might be operating incrementally without realizing it
- What to focus on next to accelerate your impact
👉 Take the Breakthrough Leadership Assessment
As the first few leaders take the assessment, I’m eager to see what resonates most, what patterns they notice, and what feels newly clear.
If last week showed what breakthrough feels like, this week is about how to design for it.
