The bandaid fix that’s costing you more than you think.

Hi there,

You may have heard of Dave Ramsey. He’s an American talk show host, author, and businessman who is… a personality. He has some very strongly held beliefs, but whether you agree with him or not, he’s very entertaining. 

I like to study great modern communicators, and he’s one of them. Listening to him this week, a line of his caught my attention.  

“Stop trying to borrow your way out of debt.”

Now, he was talking about literal debt. Maybe it’s my current state, but this hit differently.

I’ve realised that too often, we try to fix problems with bandaids. Solutions that take away the sting, but don’t solve the underlying issue. We invest a bit of time, time and again, to stave off facing the real problem.

I’ve been guilty of this many times. And I’m guessing, so have you. 

In the listed world, I’ve seen this look like:

• A quick capital raise instead of a proper capital plan.
• A rebrand to create interest, instead of fixing the core narrative.
• A last-minute roadshow instead of building long-term investor relationships.
• An IR update posted to LinkedIn, rather than presented to shareholders.
• An acquisition just for the sake of a raise or a pump.

These are bandaid solutions.

They might relieve the pressure for a moment, but none of them fix the problem. If anything, they delay the pain and end up compounding it. Because there’s a difference between a short-term tactic and a long-term solution.

The first makes you feel better. The latter makes you better. 

So this week, I’m asking myself a question: “what problems am I putting bandaids on?”

Am I alone here - or are you doing it too? Because the sooner we stop borrowing from tomorrow, the sooner we can start building something that lasts.

Ready to tear off a few bandaids?

 Cheers,

Ben