Can’t See the Forest for the Trees
I’ve talked to a lot of founders over the years. Intelligent people, all of them. People who care deeply about what they’re building.
From the outside, it’s often clear what is happening. They believe the details are what matter most. And they’re mostly right. But there’s a reason the old saying goes, “The Devil is in the details.”
When you’re buried in those details, it’s hard to recognize when you’re stuck. It’s hard to see when you’re so deep in the weeds that you can’t take another step forward.
I recognize it because I’ve been there myself.
Over the past few months, while building my own business, I’ve spent long stretches buried in details . Tweaking language that already worked. Revisiting decisions I’d already made, hoping to gain a bit more clarity, or make something just a bit better. Chasing perfection by zooming in tighter, not realizing that was the thing making everything feel more frustrating.
At the time, it felt like the responsible thing to do. It felt like craftsmanship. It felt like “doing the work.”
But once I stepped back, the pattern was obvious. Being too close made it impossible to see the bigger picture.
Founders don’t get stuck because they don’t care enough. They get stuck because they literally care about everything.
Website tweaks that never quite feel done. Product decisions that keep getting pushed down the road. Email messaging that gets rewritten, softened, sharpened and softened again. Opinions from people who don’t actually know the business.
Every decision feels important, and every choice feels like it could make or break things.
So you go deeper.
You zoom in tighter.
And tighter.
Until you can’t see where you’re actually headed anymore.
That’s the trap.
The details feel productive. Big-picture thinking feels like slowing down when you should be pushing forward.
Here’s what I had to learn the hard way:
You don’t lose your way by not working hard enough. You lose it by forgetting what the work is for.
When you’re deep in the trees, everything feels urgent. Everything feels personal. Every small decision carries more weight than it should.
That’s usually a signal, not a failure.
It means you’re no longer seeing the compass.
A few things helped me:
First, zoom out on purpose. Just long enough to ask a different set of questions. What are we actually building? Who is this really for? What problem are we trying to solve right now? What matters here?
Second, separate activity from progress. A checklist can keep you busy for months without moving the business forward an inch. Progress usually feels simpler, quieter, and sometimes uncomfortable because it forces you to let go of good ideas that don’t serve the direction you’re heading.
Third, name what it is that matters. Just the handful of important things that deserve your attention right now. When everything is a priority, nothing is.
Finally, don’t confuse isolation with independence. Founders carry a lot alone, and that’s part of the deal. But perspective comes faster when you’re not trapped inside your own head. Sometimes clarity shows up the moment you say things out loud.
Photo by Tom Fisk
If you’re reading this and nodding, you’re not behind. You’re not failing. You’re likely just too close to your own work to see it cleanly. That’s actually a really good problem to have.
If you need a steady hand to help you step back, find your bearings, and decide what actually deserves your energy, I’m here.
Sometimes seeing the forest is all it takes to move forward again.
