Paper Napkin Wisdom - Podcast And Blog For Entrepreneurs, Leaders And Difference-makers

On today’s napkin, Michael sketches a deceptively simple truth: a manager who works through people generates far bigger results than a talented individual contributor working alone. The drawing shows two paths: Manager → People → (big) Results versus Individual → (smaller) Results. It’s not a knock on personal excellence; it’s a reminder that leadership scale lives in leverage—the kind you earn by growing your people.  Early in our conversation, Michael laughed about how many of us misread our own management ability: “According to Gallup, 71% of all managers put themselves in the top 20% of all managers.” That gap between confidence and capability is exactly why this napkin matters—most businesses hit a ceiling right where frontline heroes are promoted and suddenly responsible for everyone else’s outcomes.  So why is the shift so hard? Because the skills that make you great as an individual contributor aren’t the same skills that make you a great manager. As Michael puts it, “what it takes as an individual c