The Hustle Culture Mousetrap: More Isn’t Better

Jun 4, 2025

11:25

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What if working harder is actually a lie that’s making your business worse?

In this episode, Bill shares a story of a billion-dollar company brought to its knees by a CEO who hustled too hard. What once starts as ambition can quickly turn into micromanagement and business confusion. Bill breaks down why hustle culture is a lie, what it’s really costing you, and how to shift out of this chaotic mode and into something much more sustainable.

Topics explored in this episode:

(0:15) The Billion-Dollar Crashout

*The story of an ad tech CEO who lost 90% of company value by trying to do everything.

*Why over-involvement, scattered priorities, and non-stop hustle backfired.

(3:50) The Myth of More ‘Hustle’

*Hustle culture is a lie!!!

(6:10) It’s Time to Shift Out of the Hustle

Get Clear: Define a breakthrough BHAG and long-term strategy.
Build the Culture: Hire well, clarify roles, coach continuously.
Execute Intentionally: Prioritize, track key metrics, and meet with rhythm.
Get a Life: Really make conscious time for what’s important to you.

(9:00) Integration Over Sacrifice

*It’s all connected: You bring your life into work, and work into life.

*Create a system that supports both.

Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.

Join Bill in the Growth Navigator Coaching Program: https://ScalingCoach.com/workshop

Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/BillGall

Bill on YouTube: https://www.YouTube.com/@BillGallagherScalingCoach

Visit https://ScalingUp.com to learn more about Verne Harnish, our team of Scaling Up Coaches, and the Scaling Up Performance Platform, which includes coaching, learning, software, and summit. We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around people, strategy, execution, and cash so that they can scale up successfully and beat the odds of business growth.

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