The Two-Hour Meeting That Changed Everything

I got on a call with a founder a few weeks ago. Smart guy. Passionate about his product. His team was moving fast—demos every week, proposals going out, sales calls stacked back-to-back.

But nothing was closing.

"Mike," he said, "I haven't had time to actually think in three months. I'm just reacting."

I've had this conversation more times than I can count in my 40 years in EdTech. Founders who confuse motion with progress. Teams that are busy but not productive. And the worst part? They feel guilty even considering slowing down.

Here's what I told him: If you're running so fast you can't see where you're going, you're not leading. You're just tired.

Busy Doesn't Mean Productive

The EdTech space rewards hustle. Get your product in front of districts. Book more demos. Send more follow-ups. Scale faster. Move quicker.

But I've watched too many companies burn out chasing every opportunity without stopping to ask: Is this the right opportunity?

This founder's team was pitching features to anyone who'd listen. They'd refined their deck a dozen times. They knew their product inside and out. But they hadn't stopped to understand what the districts they were targeting actually needed.

They were moving. They just weren't going anywhere.

I see this pattern constantly. Founders who've been told that pausing means they're not committed. That reflection is what you do after you've made it, not while you're trying to get there. That strategic thinking is a luxury they can't afford yet.

That's backwards.

The Pause Isn't the Problem—The Guilt Is

When I suggested he clear his calendar for a few hours to actually think, you'd have thought I asked him to shut down the company.

"I can't just stop," he said. "We've got momentum."

But here's the thing about momentum—it only matters if you're headed in the right direction. You can move fast and still end up nowhere.

I've been on both sides of district deals for decades. I've seen teams pitch the same presentation to curriculum directors, tech coordinators, and superintendents without adjusting their message. All motion, no strategy. They're busy, sure. But they're not effective.

Action without direction just burns time.

And in EdTech, where sales cycles are already long, and district budgets are finite, you don't have time to waste on the wrong approach.

What Reflection Actually Looks Like

So, what did this founder do?

He cleared two hours on his calendar. No calls. No emails. Just him, a whiteboard, and one question: "What are we actually trying to solve?"

Not "What does our product do?"

Not "How do we get more demos?"

But "What problem are we solving, and for whom?"

By the end of those two hours, he'd made three decisions:

1. He cut three initiatives that were draining his team but weren't advancing them toward a district contract.

2. He doubled down on one relationship with a district curriculum director who'd been asking questions that indicated real budget alignment.

3. He shifted the team's pitch from product features to funded outcomes—how their solution addressed a specific mandate the district was already required to meet.

Less doing. More focus.

Within six weeks, that district moved from "we're interested" to a signed managed evaluation with a clear path to expansion. Not because the product changed, but because the strategy did.

Action Creates Movement. Reflection Creates Direction.

I learned this the hard way early in my career. I was working at a major publisher, pushing hard to get our curriculum adopted by a large urban district. I had momentum—meetings scheduled, relationships building, presentations refined.

But I wasn't listening.

The district kept referring to its literacy intervention mandate. I kept talking about our comprehensive curriculum. They needed targeted support for struggling readers. I was selling a full adoption.

I was moving fast. I was just moving in the wrong direction.

It wasn't until I stepped back and actually listened to what they were telling me that I understood: they didn't need what I was selling. They needed something specific, and if I could align with that, I had a real shot.

I adjusted. We focused on the intervention piece. And we won the contract.

That pause—that moment of reflection—was what made the difference.

If You're Overwhelmed, Do Less

Here's what I know after four decades in this business: The answer to feeling overwhelmed isn't doing more things better. It's doing fewer things that actually matter, but doing them better.

EdTech founders are some of the hardest-working people I know. You're passionate about helping kids. You believe in your product. You're willing to grind.

But grinding without direction doesn't get you to a district contract. It just grinds you down.

So, here's my challenge to you:

Clear two hours this week. Not for another sales call. Not for product development. Not for email.

Two hours to ask yourself:

• What are we actually trying to solve?

• Who has the budget and mandate to pay for that solution?

• Are we aligned with how districts actually buy, or are we selling the way we wish they bought?

You might realize you're chasing the wrong districts. You might discover you're selling to the wrong people. You might find that the initiative you've been pouring resources into isn't aligned with any funded mandate.

Or you might find the one thing that, if you focused on it completely, could change everything.

The Space to Think Is Where Strategy Happens

That founder I mentioned? He told me last week that those two hours were the most productive time he'd spent all quarter.

Not because he did more. Because he got clear on what actually mattered.

Busy doesn't mean productive. Motion doesn't mean progress. And if you're always reacting, you're not leading—you're just surviving.

When's the last time you had space to think?