The Promotion Dip

Why this issue matters:

• Promotions follow legible business outcomes, not raw output or tool skill.

• Leaders buy decisions under time pressure, so your work must travel as a clear call with proof.

• A simple switch, ship decisions and file evidence, turns flat effort into visible momentum.

• ICs can do this without a title change, budget, or team. You can start today.

• The playbook below adds a Dip Test, leader-ready headlines, a one-look scoreboard, and a mini case so you can run this immediately.

You got more done this quarter than all of last year.

Your title? Still the same.

That’s what Seth Godin would call the Promotion Dip - from The Dip.

When you’re stuck in a cul-de-sac, more effort just means more time circling the same dead-end.

The fix? Stop shipping more, and start shipping different.

Promotions don’t come from raw output or flashy tool skills. They come from clear, visible business impact. Delivered as actionable decisions leaders can trust under pressure. You don’t need a title change, budget, or team to start moving the needle. You just need to ship different.

This issue breaks down Godin’s idea into a 30-day playbook, with real outputs your manager can actually use to argue for your raise.

This issue is jam packed with actionable steps to get you moving. Simple. Easy. Effective.

Lets go!

Why shipping decisions is how you stay relevant

The bots can write queries, plot charts, and even draft takeaways.

But promotions? Those still come from reducing risk (fast) and helping a decision get made under pressure.

Decision leadership means:

• Summarizing the decision in a sentence

• Listing real options, with real trade-offs

• Recommending a call and assigning an owner

• Estimating the cost of doing nothing

• Capturing proof when the decision lands

Managers promote people who reduce their risk and extend their time. Decisions do both.

The Dip, applied to promotions

Here’s how to know if it’s time to double down, or switch lanes.

Cul-de-sac vs Dip, in 90 seconds:

• If your briefs are helping people decide faster and better, you’re in a Dip. Keep going.

• If doubling your effort barely moves the needle, you’re in a cul-de-sac. Time to change what you ship (or who it’s for).

Three-question Dip Test

• Have your last 3 Decision Briefs helped someone make a call faster?

• Has the cycle time from request to “yes” improved in the past month?

• Did any decision get accepted without a meeting?

Score 2–3: You’re on the right path. Keep shipping.
Score 0–1: Time to pivot. Aim for a bigger decision, a new stakeholder, or a clearer value signal.

What legible impact actually looks like

Decorative output: “Built a new attribution dashboard.”
Real outcome: “Reframed attribution as budget reallocation. Shifted 12% of spend, unlocked +$410k run-rate. Finance signed off.”

Decorative output: “Optimised SQL for speed.”
Real outcome: “Pipeline went from 2h10 → 37m. Finance hits cutoff, avoids rework. 320 hours saved per quarter. Manager recognised work.”

Decorative output: “Trained a churn model.”
Real outcome: “Converted model into a playbook. Dropped 90-day churn 2.3 pts on $22M book. Control group documented. Leadership recognised work.

Mini case: from dashboard request to director approval in 9 days

Day 1: Changed ask from “churn dashboard” to “retain Tier A customers in Q4.”
Day 2: Sent 1-page brief with 3 options. Cost of inaction: $220k.
Day 4: Built just the two visuals that clarified trade-offs.
Day 6: Director approved Option 2 for trial.
Day 8: CSMs ran plays on 218 accounts.
Day 9: Filed binder with email, run sheet, and early impact.
Outcome: 2.1 point churn reduction projected. Finance co-signed.

Five Promotion Dip habits that move the needle

1. Reframe every task as a decision
Before opening any tool, ask: “What decision does this unlock, by when, for whom?”
If the answer’s fuzzy, push back:

• What changes if this number moves?

• Who gets hurt if we’re wrong?

• Where have we solved something like this before?

2. Swap demo decks for Decision Briefs
Ship a one-pager a director can say “yes” to on the spot.
Format:

• One-line result

• Two lines of context

• Three options, each with a trade-off

• One clear recommendation with owner

• Cost of inaction

• Next step + timeline

3. File the proof the same day
When a decision lands, don’t wait. File the screenshot, email, quote, or metric immediately. Drop it in your Evidence Binder, log it in your Value Ledger.

4. Send two bullets every Friday
Stay visible without overdoing it:

• Shipped decisions with $/time/risk impact

• Next week’s decisions and blockers (ask for help early)

5. Do fewer things, but finish them
Half-finished work is invisible. One finished decision beats five 80% done tasks. Shrink scope until something can ship this week.

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Why This Strategy Holds Up in Real-World Promotion Games

It’s way too easy to get pulled into the daily grind and confuse motion with progress. You stay busy, you ship things. But none of it sticks.

What actually moves the needle? Making your work legible - framed around decisions, with proof someone can point to. That’s what separates you from the sea of dashboards and AI-generated fluff that looks slick but solves nothing.

Promotions aren’t always fair.

Momentum dies. Priorities shift. Execs change their mind or leave.

This playbook doesn’t promise magic. What it does is tilt the odds. By turning your output into something the person holding the pen just can’t ignore.

If you’ve ever watched someone get promoted just for being “visible,” or felt boxed in by metrics that don’t tell the whole story remember this: you control two levers.

One, making your value undeniable.

Two, making it easy for someone to fight for you when it counts.

The rest? Timing. Politics. Luck. I cant deny there is plenty of that. 30 years in the trenches tells me that.

But when the pressure’s on, and leadership has to place bets you want your name to be the safest, clearest choice in the room.

It’s not about being liked. It’s about being unignorable.

Your next move (this week)

Pick one live request. Rewrite it as a decision with an owner + date.
Draft your Brief. Trim scope until it can ship by Friday.
File the proof same-day.
Log it in the Ledger.
Send your two bullets.

I dont think I can provide more actionable steps that this, without you actually becoming a coaching client of mine!!

Best,

Tom

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