This article first appeared in Forbes.
When something feels new and uncertain, it’s tempting to think, “There are so many unknowns here, I guess I’ll figure it out as I go.”
But what if you already know more than you think?
A client reminded me of this recently. Her company is growing fast, and they’ve made several hires over the past two years — some great, some that didn’t stick. When she came to me, she said something I hear often: “Hiring still feels like a coin toss. I try to go with my gut feel but it’s so hard to tell who will truly work out until they start.”
Yet as she talked it through, something surprising became clear: this wasn’t a brand-new challenge. They had data — not spreadsheets or personality assessments, but something just as valuable.
Real experience.
Over the years, they’d seen who had lasted, and who left after a few months. They knew exactly what skills were needed to make it in their field, and in their firm.
Yet, despite decades of hiring, they were still approaching the hiring process with the same interview and “hope-for-the-best” approach. And honestly? We all fall into this trap, even the most seasoned leaders.
The Hidden Struggle: Ambiguity Tricks Us Into Winging It
Ambiguity tricks us. When life feels unpredictable, it’s easy to convince yourself that there’s no point in making a plan because who knows what will happen. That’s when we tend to fall back on our instincts and treat each situation as an opportunity to improvise and try something new.
But here’s what’s most surprising:
When you feel like everything is random, you stop noticing the patterns right in front of you.
It’s a bit like stumbling into a dark hotel room you’ve never stayed in before. At first, you’re feeling around for the light switches and hoping you don’t bang your shin trying to find the bathroom at night. But after you’ve been there two days, you know where all the furniture is — even when the room is pitch black.
That’s where easy-going systems can come in handy. Not rigid checklists or corporate bureaucracy.
But principles — the guardrails we create once you finally recognize that you’re not a newbie here. You have experience and evidence to guide yourself, and your team, to a better outcome the next time around.
The Client Story: Turning Experience Into Principles
Back to my hiring client.
The moment we slowed down, the patterns jumped out at her:
The kinds of people who thrive in their firm
The specific skills needed not just in their industry, but for their way of working
The subtle yellow flags they had ignored in past interviews
The qualities that consistently predicted success
All the ingredients for a strong hiring system were already there — just scattered around in memory.
Once she recognized that, she didn’t need a 20-page handbook.She needed a repeatable process anchored in what she’d already learned. A system that made every interview process less hit-or-miss, and more purposefully guided.
And you can replicate this in almost any area of your life or leadership.
Your Life Already Has Principles — You Just Haven’t Named Them Yet
One of my clients recently realized he had a guidepost he had never articulated: he needs 15 quiet minutes after school drop-off before taking his first meeting. He used to start calls from the car or jump straight into his day the moment he walked back through the door. But once he named this need, it became obvious: that quiet transition was the difference between a scattered morning and a centered one.
That’s a system. A simple, human, practical one. It’s built around principles that already exist in your life, too. They are just waiting for you to recognize and name them.
Three Invitations to Get Started
Here are three simple places to begin — not rigid rules, but principles you can shape into your own systems:
1. Notice what you keep doing that actually works.
These are your natural strengths. Write them down somewhere and make them into habits. One of my favorite productivity experts, Laura Vanderkam says anything you do 3 times or more a week is a habit. So morning meditation or workouts only happens a few times a week, that’s ok. It can still be something you hold onto as a baseline habit that sets you up for a more centered day.
2. Name the friction points you keep bumping into – and try something different.
I realized recently that my to-do list, in addition to having all my must-dos, also has links to webinars and learning podcasts I would love to listen to. These items often hang out on my to-do list and create additional stress. I’ve decided that I’m moving them all onto their own separate list that I can revisit when I have time, instead of feeling guilty every day that I didn’t get to them.
3. Choose one area where “winging it” is no longer serving you.
Hiring, scheduling, strategic planning, communication — pick one and create your “Version 1” system. Then “A-B test” it. See if it improves things even a little. If it does, refine. If not, adjust. Improvement isn’t a straight line up and to the right; if you’re willing to tolerate some messiness and failures though, experimentation is the fastest path to get there.
You don’t need the perfect system. You just need the first version of one.
Because once you stop treating everything with uncertainty like it’s the first time you’ve managed it, you start leading with more clarity, more confidence, and far fewer avoidable surprises. Start now.
If you liked this article, you may like: Plan Your Week for Success
