You're not getting ready. You're hiding.
I know because I've seen it a thousand times.
The VP who left corporate four months ago. Smart. Experienced. 20 years of real results on the resume.
And they've spent the last 12 weeks doing this:
- Rewriting their LinkedIn headline for the ninth time
- Tweaking their positioning until it's a 47-word paragraph nobody will read
- Building a website they don't need yet
- Hiring another LinkedIn expert
- Telling their spouse they're "laying the foundation"
Meanwhile? Zero outreach. Zero conversations. Zero pipeline.
Avoidance Wearing a Strategy Costume
Here's what's actually happening.
Positioning work feels productive. It's comfortable. You're in your head, working on something familiar. You're wordsmithing. Strategizing. Perfecting.
But it's not strategy. It's avoidance wearing a strategy costume.
"Positioning work feels productive because it's comfortable. That's exactly the problem."
I didn't figure this out from a book. I figured it out from watching hundreds of experienced professionals go through this exact pattern.
The ones who spent 40 hours on positioning and zero on outreach? They were still "getting ready" six months later.
The ones who landed clients in 90 days? They started messy. Imperfect positioning. Rough pitch. And they picked up the phone anyway.
Your Positioning Will Never Feel Ready
That's not a flaw in the process. That's your brain protecting you from rejection.
Process beats network. But process requires actually doing the process — not just planning it.
The foundation is important. I'm not saying skip it.
I'm saying stop hiding inside it.
"Start messy. Pick up the phone anyway."
Your Next Move
Pick one person this week and start a real conversation — before your positioning feels ready.
Want the playbook for turning expertise into pipeline? Join 1,000+ Corporate Refugees: theretern.com/newsletter
The work is serious. The life doesn't have to be.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tee time to keep.
Kirk Coburn is the founder of The ReTern and category creator of the fractional executive movement. He introduced the term "Fractional CMO" to the market in 2009 when he co-founded Chief Outsiders, which has since served 2,000+ clients. When he's not helping corporate refugees build fractional practices, he's usually on the golf course by 2 PM.
