Stop Inspiring People. Start Giving Them Something to Kill.

We’ve been taught to lead with inspiration.

Paint the vision. Cast the mission. Be the spark.

And sometimes, sure — that works. But more often?

It doesn’t land. It doesn’t move people. And it doesn’t cut through the daily grind of tasks, distractions, and low-key existential dread.

Because while inspiration sounds good, it’s not what your team is starving for.

They don’t want a dream.

They want a villain.

Nobody Fights for a Vision

• “Change the future of X.”

• “Redefine how Y is done.”

• “Make [industry] better for everyone.”

These are slogans. Not rallying cries.

They’re too clean. Too vague. Too polite.

And in real life? Your team doesn’t wake up at 6AM hyped to “redefine” anything.

They want to win.

They want something they can swing at. Something that feels real. Urgent. Close enough to bite.

You don’t need to inspire people.

You need to hand them a sword.

Name the Monster

The best leaders I know don’t just articulate the dream. They define the enemy.

They say:

The moment there’s a monster, people move.

If your team doesn’t know what they’re fighting:

• Meetings drift into theory.

• Metrics feel detached.

• Accountability fades.

• Ownership turns into avoidance.

But when you name the monster?

• Everyone sharpens their focus.

• Priorities self-organize.

• Momentum builds — not from pressure, but from purpose with teeth.

Alignment isn’t a values exercise.

It’s shared aggression, pointed in the right direction.

The Real Job of a CEO

Your job isn’t to motivate. It’s to name what’s in the way.

Make it visible. Make it beatable. Make it bleed.

Then let your people do what they’re actually wired to do.

If this hit, go deeper:

→ You’re Not Building a Team. You’re Building a Mirror

Brutal. Necessary. And exactly the kind of reflection most founders avoid.

Best,
Peter Delle