Decision | Skill
Before a Skill
Is Tested,
a Decision
Is Made.
Skill matters. But the moment skill is tested is rarely where the story begins.
This book looks at the decisions made before that moment arrived — about margin, cost, people, assumptions, and how close to the line we were willing to operate.
Digital edition available now · Instant download · A5 format
Skill matters. It is often what gets us through difficult moments. But the moment skill is tested is rarely where the story really begins.
This book looks further upstream, at the decisions made days, weeks, months, and sometimes years before. The margin we kept. The cost we accepted. The assumptions we carried. The people we asked to absorb pressure. The line we chose to operate close to.
It is not a book about blaming people in the moment. It is about noticing what has already been decided before the pressure arrives, and asking whether we have left enough room for skill to be enough.
Before pressure arrives, there is usually a line. Sometimes it is written down. Often it is not. This chapter is about noticing where that line is before we find ourselves standing on the wrong side of it.
Margin is not wasted space. It is the room that lets people think, recover, adapt, and still do good work when things change.
Every decision spends something. Time. Energy. Trust. Options. People. This chapter is about naming those costs before they quietly land on someone else.
A plan is not a promise that the world will behave. It is a way of thinking clearly before the pressure arrives, so that when things change, we still have choices.
Decisions do not just live on paper. They land on people. This chapter looks at the human cost of the assumptions we make, especially when those assumptions go untested.
Sometimes the most important decision is not to press on. The pause is where we notice what is changing, what is being spent, and whether the original decision still makes sense.
By the time a decision becomes visible, much of it has already been shaped. This final chapter brings the book together: skill is tested in the moment, but the decision was often made long before.
It's brilliant. It's almost poetic. I wish I'd had it throughout my career as a guide — it almost feels like a prayer book for any decision maker or leader.
Former Royal Navy Commodore
Very thought provoking, highlighting good decisions and also the not so good — inspiring me to have a clearer overall view to my decision making and its effects.
Maritime Professional
- 7Chapters
- 9Illustrations
- PDFDigital Edition
- A5Format
Hardback coming September 2026
A printed hardback edition is planned for September 2026 and will be available via IngramSpark.
Notify me when the hardback is outDigital edition available now · PDF · A5 · via Gumroad
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