The Boring Move That Actually Solves Your Biggest Problems

Most people think the answer to their problems is to work harder — post more, say yes more, push through.

But the truth is, reacting like this keeps you stuck. And most problems have an upstream cause, with small solutions that fix them better than last-minute effort.

In this Sunday Session, I’m sharing a quick story on why “walking upstream” beats firefighting, how it shows up at work and at home, and a simple way to install one quiet system in each. 

So tune in, reflect, and ask yourself: where are you repeatedly firefighting — and what’s one upstream fix you can put in your diary this week?

Want my help getting more leads and clients for your HR consultancy?

1️⃣ Start with the book — The Complete Guide to Building a £70K HR Consultancy

Discover the Client Control method so you attract better clients, win more valuable projects, and charge what you’re worth.

👉 https://theinfluentialconsultant.co.uk/the-book/

2️⃣ Work with me

Join the Fastlane Formula to plug the Client Control method and the 3 Phase Funnel into your business and build a predictable pipeline of premium clients — so you never face feast-or-famine again.

👉 https://theinfluentialconsultant.co.uk/fastlaneformula100/

Transcript

0:00 Hello there and welcome back to another episode of Sunday Sessions with me, Nick Poninski. Today I want to talk to you about a quick story I heard from Tony Robbins.
0:10 I had to share this with you. I, I shared it with, uh, one of the HR advisors I was working with back in the day and I'd completely forgotten about that.
0:18 But I remember it was one of the first times I'd ever shared something that I'd read, something that I'd learned from.
0:26 In a way that resonated with somebody. And, yeah, this morning, when I remembered this story, I was like, I was at one of Tony Robbins' post, posts, and I remembered this story, and I thought, I have to share this.
0:40 So here it is, right? This is a story about a, it's a fake story, but it's an analogy, right? So just to reassure you, when I share what I'm about to share, uhm, you know, it's not real, right?
0:54 But here it is. So a man is walking by a river when he spots a child drowning. He dives in, pulls the child out of the water, gets them safe.
1:04 Two minutes later, another child. He dives in again, the man. And then a third, and then a fourth. As I'm walking by and watching all this, I start taking off my shoes to jump in and help with the next kid.
1:18 But the man doesn't move. He turns around and starts walking upstream. I shout, aren't you going to help me with this next kid?
1:25 He says no. I'm going to find out where they're falling in. That's the point of the story. Stop firefighting. Fix the source.
1:35 Now in business, and especially for us as solopreneurs, solo HR consultants, we are brilliant at rescuing people. We have a quiet month and immediately sprint to networking breakfasts.
1:48 We bash out a couple of LinkedIn posts. We say yes to a random low-fee project, whatever it is, anything to feel busy and in control.
1:57 But the reason that you don't have clients that feast or famine isn't because of today's diary, it's because of yesterday's pipeline.
2:05 You know, if there's no predictable way for you, for leads to find you, to book with you, to buy from you, you'll always be in big sprinting downstream.
2:13 So what does walking upstream look like for you? Well, upstream for lead generation is a clear niche, a simple green light page, one traffic source you commit to, ads, partnerships, content, whatever it is, and a follow-up sequence that moves people to a call.
2:29 Upstream for lead and for sales is a defined call structure, paid diagnostics where appropriate, and a confident premium offer. That solves a specific problem.
2:41 And upstream for delivery, but that's boundaries, that's productized services, and it's a rhythm for client updates. So scope creep doesn't drown you.
2:51 And it's the same in life. Are you feeling constantly exhausted? Downstream is another coffee. Upstream is sleep. It's movement. It's saying no to things.
3:03 If you're struggling with money stress, well, downstream is cutting Netflix. Upstream is raising your fees. It's packaging your services. It's measuring your funnel maths weekly.
3:14 It's looking at your laps. Your, uhm, your, when I say your laps, I mean the amount in episode that I recorded.
3:20 The four numbers that tell you about your business. So, here's a 60 second exercise for you. Grab a pen and write these three questions.
3:30 Where am I diving in again and again? What's the real upstream cause? What's the smaller system I can put in place this week to fix it at source?
3:43 Pick one thing, not five, just one. Maybe it's launching a single page lead magnet with an advert. Maybe it's tightening your offer and updating your website headline.
3:55 Maybe it's setting a rule, you know, every Thursday, two hours on Pipeline. Non-negotiable. Because, you know, rescuing kids looks heroic.
4:04 Walking upstream looks boring. But it's the only way the rescues stop being needed. So thanks for listening along. I hope this episode has been useful for you.
4:15 And as ever, because it's Sunday, embrace the change. Because how we change, is how we grow.