#411 Drains. Every drain serves a purpose.

Ever watched rain vanish into a storm drain and wondered where it goes? We use that everyday moment to unpack a bigger leadership truth: the most important work is often invisible, and the quiet systems you rarely notice are the ones that keep everything from flooding. From storm drains to team operations, we draw a clear line between prevention and crisis, showing how unseen processes create visible stability when pressure hits.

We break down why “boring” infrastructure—support desks, QA, finance ops, onboarding flows, clean data—actually drives growth and trust. You’ll hear practical, no-jargon prompts to audit your hidden workflows, spot clogs before they become messes, and give real credit to the people and processes that keep the water moving. We ask sharp questions: Which underground systems keep your life from disaster? What looks insignificant but prevents chaos? When did you last visit the overlooked department that quietly holds things together?

Along the way, we share simple actions to widen your channels: set maintenance rhythms instead of waiting for emergencies, create backups so one absence doesn’t swamp the team, and reward early detection as much as big wins. The goal isn’t more spectacle; it’s better flow. By the end, you’ll see how small, consistent care for hidden systems compounds into resilience, calm execution, and trust you can feel—especially when the rain comes.

If this sparked a new way of seeing your work, subscribe, share it with a teammate who keeps things running, and leave a review with the unseen system you’re committed to strengthening this week.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Today’s Focus
• 0:09 Why Drains Matter
• 0:31 The Storm Drain Analogy
• 1:00 Unseen Systems, Visible Stability
• 1:18 Leadership Reflection Prompts
• 1:49 Invitation to Share & CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Growth Instigators Hotline. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. This is message 411. This week is all about drains. D-R-A-I-N-S. An everyday normal object that we can assign deeper meaning to. Something that can grab our attention and represents something beyond. What are some leadership lessons we can glean from drains? Picture this after a heavy rain, watching water rush into a storm drain. Have you seen that? It's pretty impressive, isn't it? Pretty powerful force. Imagine what would happen to the city without storm drains. Every drain serves a purpose. Leaders know that even unseen systems serve a purpose. What looks insignificant may be preventing disaster. The storm drain leads to unseen pipes and tunnels and channels that divert water to where it needs to go. Well, I don't even know where it goes. We above ground don't even notice where the water goes, but boy, we sure would notice if it wouldn't just disappear. What underground systems keep your life from disaster? What unseen things do a ton of work to keep your life at peace? When was the last time you paid attention to something or someone that oftentimes is neglected or overlooked? Maybe today is a good day to visit that department or pay special attention to the behind the scenes team or system. Without drains, our life would flood. That, my friend, is how a common everyday object can instigate growth. I'd like to hear some more of your observations. What growth lessons can you apply to drains? For those of you calling the Growth Instigators Hotline, I'd love to hear your thoughts after the beep. For those of you listening in on a podcast, visit growth instigators.com and send me your thoughts. Let's never see drains the same.