I spend a lot of time thinking about how people grow. And one pattern I see repeatedly across Shore Capital’s portfolio companies is this: smart, motivated leaders working incredibly hard and still feeling stuck. Not because they lack drive. Because they’re pushing in the wrong places. 

One of my favorite books on this topic is Dan Heath’s Reset, and it landed for me. 

Heath’s premise is simple but uncomfortable. The problem usually isn’t the amount of effort that people are putting in but rather where that effort is directed. Most of us are trying to move a boulder with raw force when we should be looking for the lever nearby. His framework comes down to two moves: find your leverage points (the small interventions that unlock disproportionate progress) and restack your resources (point your time, energy, and attention directly at those points and pull back from everything else). 

Here are four patterns I see in growing businesses that this book speaks to directly. 

1. Leaders are often the last to see the real problem.
   Heath calls this “going and seeing the work.” The best operatorsI’ve encountered don’t manage from reports alone. They stay close to the front line, where the real friction lives. In lower-middle-market businesses especially, the gap between what leadership assumes is happening and what is actually happening on the floor can be significant. Closing that gap is often the leverage point. 
2. Your best performers are a playbook youhaven’twritten yet.
   Heath pushes readers to study bright spots rather than fixate on what isn’t working. In high-growth businesses, this often means looking at your top location, your strongest sales rep, or your most retained team. What are they doing differently? That answer is usually more valuable than any outside framework. 
3. Most teams are solving the wrong bottleneck.
   Every system has a constraint. Investing anywhere else rarely moves the needle. I’ve seen businesses add headcount, technology, and process to areas that weren’t actually the limiting factor. The harder and more important question is: what is the one thing, if relieved, that would unlock everything else? 
4. Progress is the most underrated management tool.
   Research from Healthcites found that 76 percent of employees’ best workdays involved making meaningful progress. Yet managers consistently rank it last as a motivator. In fast-growing companies, where the pace can feel relentless, making progress visible is not a culture initiative. It is an operational lever. 

Reset is not a book about working harder. It is a book about working with more intention. For leaders navigating growth, integration, or change, it is worth your time.