Power allows a leader to shape their environment. It determines the scale of impact they can have, the resources they control, the direction they can set, the systems they can influence. Agency, however, determines how that power governs judgment, priorities, the willingness to make difficult decisions when circumstances become uncomfortable. The leaders who cut through the messy middle are the ones who understand that they need to hold both.

What leadership avoids upstream doesn’t disappear. It simply reappears downstream—as clients, as culture, as cost, as complexity. Misalignment is rarely a coincidence. It’s often deferred clarity showing up where it’s hardest to ignore. When leaders do the quiet, uncomfortable work of naming boundaries, owning decisions, and claiming authority, the external world reorganises without force. The business stops repeating what leadership is willing to face.

Isn't it time we rethink one of the marketing world's buzzwords: the marketing funnel? Today’s digital arena is a far cry from what it was in the 19th century when this models were conceptualised. So, is the funnel a trusty guide, or just a relic that doesn't quite align with our current reality? People, at their core, are driven by impulse, desires and survival. We often hear about consumer journeys as if they're sticking to some scripted path with clear checkpoints. But in