#416 Watches. Old school gears

A simple watch can change how we lead. We open the case back on everyday systems and show why a single tiny gear—a handoff, a checklist, a habit—can decide whether your team hums or stalls. Rather than chasing shiny upgrades, we focus on what actually creates reliability: alignment, tolerances, and small, repeatable adjustments that reduce friction and restore flow.

We start with the old-school movement—gears, springs, and levers—and use it as a living metaphor for modern work. Mechanical watchmaking reveals why precision beats force and why overlooked parts, like clear definitions and clean handoffs, create outsized impact. Along the way, we draw a light contrast with smartwatches to highlight the value of mechanism thinking, then translate that into practical leadership moves: simplify inputs, shorten feedback loops, and design rituals that keep people, processes, and tools meshed. The core takeaway is straightforward and actionable: when one gear slips, stop blaming the dial and tune the movement.

You’ll hear concrete prompts to audit your system—where does a request get stuck, which meeting adds clarity, which template reduces rework—and guidance for personal recalibration, from tightening your daily capture to setting micro-resets between meetings. We close with an open invite to share your own “watch lessons,” building a library of small practices that add up to big reliability. If you’re a manager, founder, or builder who wants fewer stalls and more compounding momentum, this story of gears and growth will stick.

Enjoy the conversation and then tell us: which small gear will you adjust today? Subscribe, share this episode with a teammate who keeps the movement running, and leave a review with the one habit you’ll recalibrate next.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Topic Setup
• 0:23 Why Watches, Why Now
• 0:48 Mechanical vs Smart: A Light Contrast
• 0:59 Core Lesson: Every Gear Matters
• 1:25 Apply It: Systems and Leadership
• 2:12 Invitation & Next Steps

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Growth Insigators Hotline. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. This is message 416. This week we are talking about watches. That's right. An everyday normal object that we can assign deeper meaning to, something that can grab our attention and represent something beyond. Welcome to part one of five as we dive into lessons we can glean from watches. When I think of watches, I think old school. I know, get with the times, Aaron. I think gears, mechanical, not just electronic. I'm not knocking your iWatch. I just don't own one, so I can't relate. I mean, my wife owns one and she closes her rings and takes her pictures and talks into her wrists all day long. Good for her and good for you. So hear me out today. The first lesson I want to glean from watches is that every gear matters. That's right. If one of the tiniest gears stops moving correctly or is dislodged, the whole timepiece stops. The whole watch stops if one gear is bad. Anyone leading anything knows this is the case. As you look at your watch today, maybe you can think of all the areas in your life that requires your leadership. And may you be reminded that all parts, gears, people, systems are important. If one is off or having a bad day or not working properly, it can throw the whole system off. Maybe today is a good day to evaluate all the moving parts. Yep, even the smallest of gears. It might be time for an adjustment, a recalibration, a cleaning to make sure everything is running smoothly. 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 watches? 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 our podcast, visit growth instigators.com and send me your thoughts. Let's never see watches the same.