I keep seeing this on calls. You are not getting ready. You are hiding.
I know because I have seen it a thousand times.
The vice president (VP) who left corporate four months ago. Smart. Experienced. 20 years of real results on the resume.
And they have spent the last 12 weeks doing this:
- Rewriting their LinkedIn headline for the ninth time
- Tweaking their positioning until it is a 47-word paragraph nobody will read
- Building a website they do not need yet
- Hiring another LinkedIn expert
- Telling their spouse they are "laying the foundation"
Meanwhile? Zero outreach. Zero conversations. Zero pipeline.
Avoidance Wearing a Strategy Costume
Here is what is actually happening.
Positioning work feels productive. It is comfortable. You are in your head, working on something familiar. You are wordsmithing. Strategizing. Perfecting.
I keep seeing this on calls. But it is not strategy. It is avoidance wearing a strategy costume.
"Positioning work feels productive because it's comfortable. That's exactly the problem."
I did not 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
I keep seeing this on calls. That is not a flaw in the process. That is your brain protecting you from rejection.
I keep seeing this on calls. Process beats network. But process requires actually doing the process, not just planning it.
The foundation is important. I am not saying skip it.
I am 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 does not have to be.
Now if you will 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 is not helping corporate refugees build fractional practices, he is usually on the golf course by 2 PM.
