--- title: | Second Look description: Second Look | --- [Skip to content](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look#main-content) # Blog ### Posts by Topic - [Second Look (65)](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) - [Check Decision (13)](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) - [AI Clinic (11)](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/ai-clinic) - [Planning (7)](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/planning) - [Various (1)](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/various) #### [Subscribe](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look#subscribe) ## [Should I Specialise or Expand Into New Markets?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-specialise-or-expand-into-new-markets) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Three owners, one problem. A bookkeeping practice, a grounds-maintenance company and a dental fit-ou... ## [Should I Offer a Budget Version of Our Service to Fight Low-Cost Competitors, or Will That Devalue Our Premium Brand?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-offer-a-budget-version-of-our-service-to-fight-low-cost-competitors-or-will-that-devalue-our-premium-brand) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Your premium service works well. Clients value it, it earns its price, and the business is built aro... ## [Should I hire someone for invoicing and credit control, or use AI accounting automation and only escalate exceptions?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-hire-someone-for-invoicing-and-credit-control-or-use-ai-accounting-automation-and-only-escalate-exceptions) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Invoicing and credit control have started eating real time. Invoices need raising, payments need mat... ## [Should I Delegate More Even If I Can Do the Work Better Myself?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-delegate-more-even-if-i-can-do-the-work-better-myself) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Imagine a founder who can build a client financial model faster and cleaner than any analyst they co... ## [We've Grown to 30 People - Should I Force Everyone Back to the Office to Save Our Culture, or Embrace the Hybrid Model They Want?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/weve-grown-to-30-people-should-i-force-everyone-back-to-the-office-to-save-our-culture-or-embrace-the-hybrid-model-they-want) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) "Culture" is doing a lot of work in this argument, and most of that work goes unexamined. The word g... ## [Should I Stay as CEO and Lead Strategy, or Move to a Creative Director Role and Hire a Professional CEO?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-stay-as-ceo-and-lead-strategy-or-move-to-a-creative-director-role-and-hire-a-professional-ceo) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) On a film set, a director stands with a viewfinder raised to one eye, entirely absorbed in the shot.... ## [My Manager Is Underperforming - Should I Step In and Fix It or Give Them Room to Fail and Learn?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/my-manager-is-underperforming-should-i-step-in-and-fix-it-or-give-them-room-to-fail-and-learn) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) For three months, an owner has been quietly catching and preventing errors - correcting a number bef... ## [Do I Need a Formal Board of Advisors Now, or Is It Too Early?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/do-i-need-a-formal-board-of-advisors-now-or-is-it-too-early) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Three rounds in, a fighter has been dropping his guard half an inch after every jab. He doesn't know... ## [Should I Keep Doing Client Communication Myself, or Accept a Small Dip to Free Up My Time?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-keep-doing-client-communication-myself-or-accept-a-small-dip-to-free-up-my-time) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) A sommelier recommending wine to a regular guest looks like one seamless act of expertise. It isn't.... ## [How Much of Our Financial Struggle Should I Share With Staff - Full Transparency or Protect Morale?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/how-much-of-our-financial-struggle-should-i-share-with-staff-full-transparency-or-protect-morale) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) In 1915, Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance was crushed by Antarctic ice, leaving his crew stranded ... ## [Should I Spend Less Time Delivering Work and More Time Leading the Business?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-spend-less-time-delivering-work-and-more-time-leading-the-business) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) In the 1890s, chef Auguste Escoffier reorganized kitchens around a military-style brigade system, co... ## [Should I Make Fast, Unilateral Decisions to Keep Momentum, or Slow Down to Get Buy-In From My Management Team?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-make-fast-unilateral-decisions-to-keep-momentum-or-slow-down-to-get-buy-in-from-my-management-team) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Two patients arrive at the same hospital within minutes of each other. One has a twisted ankle. The ... ## [Should I Build a Management Team or Keep Running It Myself?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-build-a-management-team-or-keep-running-it-myself) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Two Jenga towers can be built from the same blocks, to the same height, and still respond completely... ## [Am I Protecting My Margin at the Cost of My Ability to Grow Later?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/am-i-protecting-my-margin-at-the-cost-of-my-ability-to-grow-later) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) The version of safety that ages badly Every decision to protect margin looks reasonable in the year ... ## [A Big Competitor Just Slashed Their Prices - Should I Match Them or Double Down on Our Superior Service Narrative?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/a-big-competitor-just-slashed-their-prices-should-i-match-them-or-double-down-on-our-superior-service-narrative) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) The moment the price changes A competitor drops their price and the phone goes quiet within days. Th... ## [Should I Create Fixed Packages or Keep Quoting Every Job Individually?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-create-fixed-packages-or-keep-quoting-every-job-individually) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Three enquiries arrive on the same Monday morning. The first is exactly the kind of work the busines... ## [Should I Increase Prices for Existing Clients or Only Apply New Rates to New Ones?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-increase-prices-for-existing-clients-or-only-apply-new-rates-to-new-ones) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Should I Increase Prices for Existing Clients or Only Apply New Rates to New Ones? ★★★☆☆ - Existing ... ## [Should I Increase Prices to Cover Rising Costs, Even If Long-Term Clients Push Back?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-increase-prices-to-cover-rising-costs-even-if-long-term-clients-push-back) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) There's a coat in the back of a tailor's workshop that's been mended so many times it's become a kin... ## [How Much Revenue Can I Afford to Lose If I Raise Prices?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/how-much-revenue-can-i-afford-to-lose-if-i-raise-prices) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Revenue doesn't arrive on its own. It arrives the way a traveller arrives at a hotel, carrying lugga... ## [Are My Prices Too Low, or Am I Just Worried About Charging More?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/are-my-prices-too-low-or-am-i-just-worried-about-charging-more) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) A man finds a meteorite in a field, heavier than it should be for its size, with a strange, dark, sm... ## [Should I Raise Prices or Protect My Volume?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-raise-prices-or-protect-my-volume) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) A price change looks like a single number moving. In practice, it rarely stays that small. Four real... ## [What did ChatGPT miss in my business plan?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/what-did-chatgpt-miss-in-my-business-plan) [AI Clinic](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/ai-clinic)[Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) AI is genuinely useful for building a business plan. It organises scattered thinking into a coherent... ## [Should Sales Bonuses Reward Revenue or Profit Per Deal?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-sales-bonuses-reward-revenue-or-profit-per-deal) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) There's a well-known story in economics, more famous as a parable than confirmed as fact, about colo... ## [Is This Plan Ready to Act On?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/is-this-plan-ready-to-act-on) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) A plan can look finished and still not be ready. Every slide has content, every phase has a date nex... ## [How Do You Pressure-Test a Business Decision?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/how-do-you-pressure-test-a-business-decision) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) A client walks in offering to double your revenue. On paper this is the easiest yes you will make al... ## [What haven't I considered before I commit to this move?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/what-havent-i-considered-before-i-commit-to-this-move) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) There is a specific moment in a haircut where everything changes. Before you sit down, every option ... ## [What could go wrong with this decision?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/what-could-go-wrong-with-this-decision) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) When people sit down to answer this question, the natural move is to start a list. And that makes se... ## [Did my team's proposal miss anything?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/did-my-teams-proposal-miss-anything) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) When a proposal lands on your desk, finished and ready to sign off, it tends to arrive with a certai... ## [Will this advice actually work in practice?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/will-this-advice-actually-work-in-practice) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) "You should delegate more." It's the kind of advice that sounds sensible the moment you hear it, and... ## [How do I get a second opinion on a business decision?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/how-do-i-get-a-second-opinion-on-a-business-decision) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) An earlier post looked at the idea of a sanity check for a decision. In everyday conversation, "sani... ## [Does this strategy hold up, or does it just look good on paper?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/does-this-strategy-hold-up-or-does-it-just-look-good-on-paper) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." - Brian Clough Clough wa... ## [What am I missing in this business decision?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/what-am-i-missing-in-this-business-decision) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) This question turns up for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it's a bit of unease. Sometimes it's a se... ## [How do I sanity check a business decision before committing?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/how-do-i-sanity-check-a-business-decision-before-committing) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) Picture someone about to do a skydive. The useful question right before the jump has nothing to do w... ## [What did ChatGPT or my adviser miss in this business decision?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/what-did-chatgpt-or-my-adviser-miss-in-this-business-decision) [AI Clinic](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/ai-clinic)[Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) Imagine you take your car to a mechanic and tell them: "My battery keeps dying. Do I need a new batt... ## [Is this enough work to justify a hire?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/is-this-enough-work-to-justify-a-hire) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) There is too much work. The team is buried, the same tasks keep coming back, and things are starting... ## [Are you making the decision you think you are making?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/are-you-making-the-decision-you-think-you-are-making) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look)[Check Decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/check-decision) Decisions go wrong for all sorts of reasons - bad timing, bad information, the wrong people in the r... ## [Before I hire again, could better processes or automation solve the capacity problem first?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/before-i-hire-again-processes-automation-capacity) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) When you hire, you don't just pay for the work you need done. You pay for the whole shape of how the... ## [Should I outsource the work or keep it in-house?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/outsourcing-brain-rental-dependency) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) The team is stretched. Work is piling up faster than it clears, and hiring feels slow and expensive.... ## [Should I hire a project manager, or can better workflow / software / accountability solve it?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/hire-project-manager-workflow-accountability) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Work is slipping, and you're the one holding it together. Deadlines move, things fall between people... ## [We're profitable but thinly staffed - is staying lean smart or slowly burning out the team?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/profitable-but-thinly-staffed-staying-lean) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) The business is profitable, the team is small, costs are kept under control, and everyone has plenty... ## [Is hiring customer support the right move if half the tickets are repetitive?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/hiring-customer-support-repetitive-tickets) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Half of your support tickets are basically the same question wearing different clothes. "Where is my... ## [I'm spending 15 hours a week on scheduling and inbox management - do I hire an EA or can AI handle it?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/hire-ea-or-ai-inbox-scheduling) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) "I'm going on a business trip. Please pack my bag." And with that, he was gone. The bag got packed -... ## [Should I accept more work even if the team is already stretched?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-accept-more-work-even-if-the-team-is-already-stretched) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) On the morning of 15 December 1967, the Silver Bridge looked normal. It crossed the Ohio River betwe... ## [Everyone is stretched - do I need to hire, change how the team works, or automate more?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/everyone-stretched-hire-automate-stay-lean) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) The warning signals came through fast. Oxygen pressure dropping. Power disappearing. Systems reading... ## [Should I take a larger dividend or reinvest profits back into the business?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-take-a-larger-dividend-or-reinvest-profits) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) In year one, the founder took nothing out. The business needed everything. Wages. Suppliers. A custo... ## [Is it better to reinvest profits into growth or build up cash reserves?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/is-it-better-to-reinvest-profits-into-growth-or-build-up-cash-reserves) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Two owners. Same profit figure. Same business size. Same amount of cash sitting in the account. Comp... ## [Should I keep selling a popular service if it has poor margins?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/popular-service-poor-margins) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Mano's Kitchen is a quiet little restaurant in a leafy suburb outside New York. For years, it has be... ## [Am I being too cautious by focusing on profit instead of expansion?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/too-cautious-profit-vs-expansion) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) During the dot-com boom, Warren Buffett looked wrong. Money was pouring into internet companies. Sha... ## [Revenue is growing but profit is shrinking - should I keep pushing sales?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/revenue-growing-but-profit-shrinking) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Imagine an old car accelerating down a road. The speed is real. The movement is real. The engine is ... ## [Should I focus on growth or profitability?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/should-i-focus-on-growth-or-profitability) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) The Death Star looked unbeatable. The Rebel Alliance looked unstoppable. You've sat with this questi... ## [AI can give you a comparison. It can’t tell you if you’re comparing to the right thing.](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/ai-comparison-right-context-benchmark-fit) [AI Clinic](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/ai-clinic)[Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) It gives you a clear answer - but is it answering the right question? You ask AI: “Is this churn nor... ## [Other companies are doing something completely different - is that a problem?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/other-companies-doing-something-different-is-that-a-problem) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) So which one do you follow? One competitor of yours is moving upmarket. Fewer deals, higher value, l... ## [Why more analysis doesn’t break a vicious cycle in decision-making](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/vicious-cycle-decision-making-hidden-factor) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Three very different decisions. Each had: two viable directions enough knowledge and data to make a ... ## [Is it normal for sales to take this long?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/is-it-normal-for-sales-to-take-this-long) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Is this just how it works - or is something wrong? You look at the pipeline and everything appears a... ## [Why you can’t wait for certainty before making a decision](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/why-you-cant-wait-for-certainty-before-making-a-decision) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) What if you are a short step away from the ideal decision: Understand → know the outcome → act The I... ## [Could be leaving massive money on the table - or completely delusional](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/massive-upside-or-delusional-decision-making) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Everything you’re seeing says this could work. That’s what makes it dangerous. You’re looking at the... ## [Everything makes sense. So why can’t you decide?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/everything-makes-sense-cant-decide) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Mr Jenkins went to the doctor because something felt off - not enough to panic, but enough to know s... ## [Is this normal - or are you getting it wrong?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/is-this-normal-or-getting-it-wrong) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Everything looks off. Or maybe it’s fine. Early Airbnb didn’t look like a clear success. Some bookin... ## [You’ve analysed everything. Still can’t decide?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/cant-decide-between-options-after-analysing) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) This must have been what Kennedy’s situation room felt like on 16 October 1962. Two days earlier, U.... ## [Why adding more options makes decisions harder](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/more-options-make-decisions-worse) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) But does it make it better? Well,... You sit down to choose what to eat. With a menu of 8 dishes, yo... ## [AI can compare two options. It can’t tell you what’s missing.](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/ai-compare-options-cant-see-whats-missing) [AI Clinic](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/ai-clinic)[Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Choosing between viable options often leads to comparison work - pros and cons, trade-offs, scenario... ## [Trying to make the right decision - and not making one at all](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/trying-to-make-the-right-decision-and-not-making-one) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) A case study of life and death. In 2007: Nokia held ~50% of the global smartphone market Apple had 0... ## [Going deeper into the details and getting nowhere](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/going-deeper-into-details-getting-nowhere) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) How much is 2 + 2? Easy, right? Not so fast. here did the first “2” come from? You open a tab. Just ... ## [Stuck between options and can’t decide?](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/stuck-between-options-cant-decide) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) You’ve narrowed it down – a few viable options. You expected it to get easier once the list got shor... ## [Why more effort doesn’t help when you can’t decide](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/cant-decide-more-effort-doesnt-help) [Second Look](https://www.advancementquest.com/blog/tag/second-look) Busy work doesn’t always get you closer to making a decision It might. Or it might be the reason you... --- Second Look. 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