Morning Brief Kickoff

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Good morning. Here's the Time and Energy Morning Brief for Monday, September 28th, 2026. Five intentional minutes before the world starts asking things of us.

A Weekend That Refueled Me

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I came out of the weekend feeling pretty full. I got to compete again. The Hawkeyes got a big win. Uh I played in a golf tournament with a buddy I don't see nearly enough. Alyssa had a blast playing with one of her friends, and we had a lot of fun with the kids. It was just a really good weekend.

Energy Versus Where To Aim It

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So I started thinking about Monday with plenty of energy, but having energy and knowing where to put it are two different things. We talk a lot about energy, as though the goal is simply to have more of it, more rest, more motivation, more engagement, more capacity. All of those things matter. But I'm becoming increasingly interested in something else through the work we're doing at Time and Energy Direction.

When Teams Burn Energy In Conflict

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Because organizations don't only lose energy when people are exhausted. They lose energy when good people spend it in competing directions. Think about an organization where marketing is working hard to generate leads. Sales is working hard to close business. Operations is working hard to create efficiency. Customer service is working hard to take care of customers. Everybody can be busy, everybody can care, everybody can even be good at their job. And the organization can still struggle to move forward if those groups don't share an understanding of what they're collectively

Shared Mental Models And Performance

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trying to create. There's some interesting research behind this. Researchers use the term shared mental models to describe the common understanding team members develop about their work, goals, and how they need to work together. A meta-analysis of 23 studies found that stronger shared mental models were positively related to team performance. Other research has found that ambiguity about our roles is associated with lower job performance, and that conflicting goals can create strain when they're competing for the same finite resources. Time and attention are two of those resources. So is energy. That's where this gets interesting to me. Because misalignment doesn't always look dysfunctional. Sometimes it looks incredibly productive, calendars are full, meetings are happening, emails are flying, people are solving

Motion Versus Real Forward Motion

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problems, departments are hitting their numbers, there's plenty of motion. But motion and forward motion aren't always the same thing. That's a big part of what we're exploring through both time and energy and revenue alignment. How do we help people understand not only what they're responsible for, but how their work contributes to something larger? How does my work connect to yours? What are we collectively trying to create? And when two important things compete for our limited time and energy, which one should win? Shared understanding doesn't mean everybody does the same thing. It means our different efforts are pointed toward the same outcome. There's a difference. So here's something worth considering as the week begins.

One Question For The Week

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Look at the people around you who are working really hard, then ask a slightly different question. Are we working hard in the same direction? Because sometimes the answer isn't that we need more effort. We need better alignment. And when that happens, we don't necessarily create more energy. We make better use of the energy we already have. Thank you for following along and make it a great week.