This is Issue 02 of Escape Velocity, a monthly newsletter for business leaders who want more from their business and their life.

A few weeks ago I wrote about sitting across the table from my co-founder, nodding along while quietly keeping score. Of everything I’ve published, that one seemed to land the hardest. And it got me thinking about how much of running a business comes down to the things we don’t say.

So that’s the thread running through this issue. The frustration you’re carrying about the person you lead alongside. The real issues that never make it onto your Issues List. The conversation you keep avoiding with yourself.

None of it stays hidden. It shows up in your numbers, your meetings, and your energy. Naming it is the work. Let’s get into it.

From the Blog

Three pieces this month, one thread. The stuff you’re avoiding is quietly running your business.

Leadership Team Conflict: The Frustration You’re Not Saying Out Loud

You know the moment. Someone on your leadership team commits to something in the meeting, and you already know it won’t happen. You nod anyway, and add it to the silent scorecard you’ve been keeping for months. That silence isn’t keeping the peace. It’s compounding interest on a debt you’ll pay later. This one covers what quiet conflict actually costs a team, and the tool that finally got me to stop skipping the hard conversation.

“Maverick, reengage!”

Sometimes the conversation you’re avoiding isn’t with your co-founder. It’s with yourself. This one started with a family photo in front of an F-14 and turned into a lesson about what happens when a founder never disengages long enough to think. Eight hats, sixty-hour weeks, chaos. I know that flight pattern personally. There’s a simple tool for it, and it costs you one hour.

Are You Really Solving Issues?

An uncomfortable question for your next leadership meeting. Is your Issues List short because you don’t have issues, or because nobody’s willing to write the real ones down? I reviewed a book that digs into exactly that gap. The one between what gets said in the meeting and what gets said in the parking lot afterward. Your Issues List is only as honest as your team.

On the Podcast Circuit

I joined Shawn Lynch on the Success Formula Podcast for a long conversation about the founder journey. The early days of Pinot’s Palette, starting with one 1,200 square foot room in Montrose and scaling to 150 locations. What I learned about being a calculated entrepreneur in a business built on wine and paint. And why buying an existing business might be the most underrated path into ownership right now. It’s a long one, but if you’ve ever wondered how the sausage actually gets made, this is the honest version.

Watch the full episode →

Coming Up

ENRG HTX — July 17, 2026 The Ion · 4201 Main St, Downstairs Room 028, Houston · 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM · Free

Last month Randy walked us through the 8 Cash Flow Drivers, and the conversation that followed was one of our best sessions yet. This month we’re building on it with the Scorecard. If the Cash Flow Drivers told us what matters, the Scorecard is how you keep a pulse on it every single week. We’ll cover how to choose the right measurables, how to set targets, and how to use it in your weekly meetings so nothing sneaks up on you. As always, we’ll close with IDS, so bring a real issue from your business.

ENRG is a free community for entrepreneurs with 10 to 250 employees running on EOS or EOS Curious. Erick Garcia, Lesa Skipper, and I are building the Houston chapter. Practical EOS training, peer-to-peer issue solving, real networking. No sales pitches.

Client Spotlight

Some news worth celebrating. Meagan Agnew, Tarrah Stewart, and the team at Haus & Host were just named Best of New Braunfels by the Herald-Zeitung.

I get a front row seat to how hard this team works and how seriously they take doing right by property owners and guests. Awards like this don’t happen by accident. They happen when a team gets clear on what they do best and executes on it week after week.

Congratulations, Meagan and Tarrah. Well earned.

That’s it for July. If any of this hit close to home, the unsaid thing in your business is probably worth an hour of your attention this week. Start there and see what opens up.

Cheers, Craig Ceccanti EOS Implementer