The Boschetto Bulletin - False Progress

Are you confusing motion with progress?

Author

Chris Scott
April 21, 2025

A founder recently told me, “We’re slammed. Everyone’s working overtime, but we’re somehow still behind.”

Not the first time I’ve heard this.

Won’t be the last.

 What looks like progress on the surface — busy teams, full calendars, constant motion — is often just coordinated chaos.

And that’s exactly how Execution Debt™ hides.

📖 Execution Playbook: The Illusion of Progress

When you’re in the weeds, it’s easy to mistake activity for execution.

Here’s what that looks like:

  • Constant brainstorming… but no prioritization

  • Endless Slack/Gchat threads… but no decisions

  • Project updates… but no real outcomes

  • Everyone’s busy… but nothing compounds

That’s Execution Debt™ in disguise.
It looks like hustle. It smells like momentum.
But it’s really just drag.

Here’s how to fix it:

1. Track Outcomes, Not Activity

Stop measuring how much is being done.
Start measuring what actually moves the needle.

Ask:

“What did we complete this week that drove a result?”

2. Kill “Progress Theater”

Progress theater = long check-ins, endless planning docs, and beautifully color-coded boards…that never get implemented.

If it’s not driving clarity or movement, it’s just noise.

3. Build a Culture of Finishing.

A half-built system is a liability, not an asset.
The best teams value done more than perfect.

Make "closing the loop" a core competency.

Execution Debt™ doesn’t always show up as failure.
It often shows up as false success — busy people, moving fast, getting nowhere.

🚀 Ready to Spot Your Execution Gaps?

Most businesses are losing at least $10K a year from Execution Debt™ — and they don’t even realize it.

Take the Execution Debt™ Score Quiz and see exactly where you’re bleeding time and money.

💡 Smart Business Move of the Week

In fast-moving companies, it’s easy to confuse being busy with being effective.
Calendars are full. Slack is nonstop. Everyone’s in motion.

But as Andy Grove put it in High Output Management:

“…stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.”

Andy Grove, Former CEO, Intel

Real execution starts with clarity. 
If you’re not defining what success looks like before the work begins — and tying it to actual business outcomes — you're just generating motion.

Why it matters:
Effort without alignment is one of the fastest ways Execution Debt™ builds up.

⚡️ Execution Power-Up: Rewrite One “In Progress” Project

Pick a project stuck in motion.
Rewrite it in one sentence: what does done look like, and why does it matter?

Then share it with your team.

If you can’t describe the finish line clearly…you’re not executing — you’re orbiting.

🎧 Podcast Feature: The UnscriptedSEO Interview

I recently sat down with Jeremy Rivera on the UnscriptedSEO Podcast to unpack Execution Debt™ — the hidden inefficiencies that quietly drag down growth. We covered everything from bad handoffs to overengineering, and why the best solutions are usually the simplest.

Podcast: The UnscriptedSEO Interview Podcast 
Topic: Identifying and Eliminating Execution Debt™
Key Takeaway: Execution Debt™ hides in plain sight. It's not about adding more tools or processes — it's about removing friction, testing small, and aligning your actions with your "why."

🎯 Boschetto Consulting - Eliminating Execution Debt™

Solving problems is what we do. Scaling smart is how we do it.

Struggling with Execution Debt™? Let’s fix it.

📌 Want more daily insights? I share strategies on LinkedIn — follow me here! 
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