Skin in the Game, Pulse on the Line

In public companies, decisions are made through a complex web of processes involving committees, lawyers, investors, and the market. Everything feels orderly, calculated, and “just how it should be.” Mistakes can be discussed, documented, and worked through as a team. This means no one really takes the fall but everyone ends up feeling worn out.

In contrast, private companies operate quite differently. When things go awry, the person responsible is usually clear from the start. They’re often staring back at themselves in the mirror. Here, decisions are felt in a visceral way, not just crunched through spreadsheets: there’s a tightening in the chest, a little flutter of intuition. The heartbeat becomes a kind of internal performance indicator.

The real difference isn’t about the business model; it’s about the psychological distance between making a decision and facing its consequences.

The further removed you are from the outcomes, the easier it is to make choices. But when you’re closer, there’s less noise, yet everything feels more significant.

So the structure of the company is secondary. What truly matters is recognizing that the ripple effects of your decisions are still unfolding right at your feet.

Yours truly,

Irina

Photo by Lopez Robin on Unsplash