The "Penalty for Delivering" and the Power of the Squiggle

We are told that careers should look like ladders. One rung after another, in a straight, predictable line. But my career has never been a ladder. It’s been a squiggle.

It’s been a journey of pivots, calculated risks, and "true origin" moments. And nowhere was that more apparent than my last three years in Spain.

The Mission in Spain

Three years ago, I moved to Spain with a clear mandate: drive transformation. I didn't move for a change of pace; I moved to build something. And for three years, that’s exactly what I did. I leaned into the squiggle—combining my background in operations, strategy, and change management to overhaul an organization that needed a new direction. The results were undeniable. We hit the targets. We embedded the change. We turned the ship.

And then, I hit the "Penalty for Delivering."

When Success Becomes a Liability

There is a specific irony in corporate transformation: if you do your job too well, you eventually make yourself obsolete. Halfway through 2025, the script was flipped. Because the transformation was successful, the organization decided it was time to "consolidate." The function was moved into Finance. The "engine" I had built was now running so smoothly that they decided they only needed a mechanic to watch the gauges, not an architect to design the future. In the eyes of a spreadsheet, I had been "optimized."

Embracing the Squiggle

If my career had been a ladder, this would have been a fall. But because my career is a squiggle, it was simply another pivot point.

I realized that my "true origins"—the things that actually make me effective—don't live in a job title or an org chart. They live in the 30% margin where innovation actually happens. They live in the ability to walk into chaos and design a way out.

I didn't wait for January 1st to decide what was next. I didn't need a New Year’s resolution to find my value. I took my brand of transformation—the battle-tested, "too good for a spreadsheet" version—and I turned it into The 30 Percent Group.

My 2026 Non-Resolutions

As I move into this year, I’m not looking for a "New Me." I’m embracing the "Squiggle Me." My focus is on:

1️⃣ Rejecting the "Efficiency Tax": Doing a job well shouldn't mean being punished with more of the same. I’m done being the "fixer" in someone else’s engine room; I’m moving to where the Architect is valued.

2️⃣ Protecting the 30%: Growth doesn't happen at 100% capacity. It happens in the margin. If I’m always "delivering," I’m never evolving. This is the core of why I founded The 30 Percent Group

3️⃣ Stop "Powering Through": If a project isn't yielding results, I’m not going to work harder at it. I’m going to pivot faster. Pride is a productivity killer.

I’m entering 2026 battle-tested, not "new." My ambition didn't need a New Year's start date, and neither does yours.

The Lesson

If you’ve ever felt "punished" for your own excellence—if you’ve been restructured out of a job you mastered or told you’re "too expensive" because you made things look too easy—know this:

The squiggle is your strength. Your value isn't tied to a seat in someone else’s engine room. It’s tied to the change you are capable of creating.

Welcome to The 30 Percent Group. Let’s start the revolution.