“Head empty, no thoughts.”

I learned this wonderful phrase from my teenager, who uses it to describe their classmates, most cats, politicians, other vehicle drivers on the way to school… It’s an all-purpose sentence that fits nearly everything.

I pondered this phrase today while I arrived at Swift’s office/lab in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, today. Amid the white light of morning fog and against the backdrop of red brick standalone buildings and the uplifted wings of finches that gather in flocks, I was thinking about how it is possible to have a successful business solely based on good systems, even if rather often one would self-describe as “head empty, no thoughts”. 

The Trap of Needing to Be Excited

Businesses are not (contrary to the beliefs of my younger self) run on all-in bursts of emotionally-charged energy. Sure, occasionally those are needed. 

But it’s a trap for people like me, and possibly like you, who are good at STARTING things, to think that the same skills and resources are the same ones we need to STEWARD things.

And beyond this, it’s also a trap to think that we have to hit a certain emotional frequency to get anything done. 

Imagine, if as a parent, I had to feel a certain way before I fed my child. “Oh hey kiddo, now’s just not the time, I’m gathering my motivation to make your breakfast. You’ll have to go to school without anything.” It’s silly. It would never happen. Even sick, I drag myself out of bed to crack an egg on the skillet and pour some milk in a mug. I nurture my child regardless of the thoughts in my head and regardless of how I feel.

Extend the metaphor. If our businesses (and our particular roles in other people’s businesses) are our children, then similarly, why would I need to feel a certain way before I log into my email and answer customer questions? Why seek a level of enthusiasm before cupping and choosing a batch of coffee from 5 different containers? In fact, why require a certain vibration before writing my weekly Unfiltered essay? 

Cupping: a great example of a job that does not require emotions to work! Photo in Addis Ababa, Michael McIntyre (QC Director), c. 2016

How Businesses Succeed

Businesses are made from systems. Emotions can be fuel… fuel for marketing, for interpersonal connections which catalyze sales, for big actions which yield big results. And big thoughts are exciting. They launch rockets, start movements, create coalitions. 

But a business is made from systems which are meant to support the “big idea” of that endeavor. For example, at Swift, now that we are really off the ground (much faster than anticipated), it is time to shift my energy as CEO from the eager rush of startup to the much more nuanced question of stabilization. Can we break even in 2026? Looks possible. To get there, we must hit certain milestones and access certain resources. None of which require me to have the high frequency which I admit, I’m rather addicted to as a serial entrepreneur!

A Key System: The 20 Mile March Concept

Like many business people, I’m a Jim Collins fan (Good to Great, Great By Choice); it was from his work that I stumbled across the concept of the 20 Mile March. Check out that linked article, go deeper in this one, and then if like me you’re curious about the story of Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott and their race to the South Pole, I cannot highly enough recommend the exceptional biography The Last Place on Earth, which beyond being exceptionally well-written is a scathing revelation of the difference between these two explorer’s approaches to the deadly ordeal. TLDR; Amundsen and his men made it out alive. The same can’t be said of Scott. Or rather too many of his men.

I utilize the 20 Mile March concept on a daily basis. As someone rather prone to intense ups and downs on a daily basis, simply checking off  the work on my 20 Mile March ensures that I make real progress toward my goals regardless of how I feel or whether my head is full of ideas or simply empty. This is actually something I like to  do with my teams; I help each person update their 20 Mile March on a quarterly basis so the Most Important Things are getting done regardless of what else happens.

Somewhere between Kansas City and Lima, working my 20 Mile March. 2025.

How I use the 20 Mile March

I’ve got mine open on my secondary monitor right now. Because as a CEO, my days are quite varied, I have two versions: one for a “Focused work day” and one for a “Scattered work day”. 

The Scattered 20 Mile March makes sure that I check the coffee market price, run our daily cash flow analysis, respond to all new customer communications, catch up on anything outstanding with suppliers, and take one outgoing action (send a pitch, introduce someone, etc.) to keep the momentum going. I use this 20MM when I have lots of meetings, or for whatever reason I’m focused on “putting out fires”. Or, if I’m sick, traveling, or supremely not in the mood.

The Focused 20 Mile March has an opening routine for the day which includes reading news articles, reviewing quarterly and annual goals, doing some writing, and other tasks. I then have a 2-4 hour sales flow which not only ensures I catch any balls that might have dropped but also do a set amount of outbound work, such as warming up cooling leads or reaching out to ideal new customers.

Next I have a flow which sets up 2026 for success, mostly through network cultivation and content creation, and after that, I have a more detailed supply side check-in, relevant notation on a worksheet for my monthly reporting, and checking in on near-horizon to-dos. I also check in with team members and observe key processes (contracting, releasing) to ensure they are flowing. I end by using the Ivy Lee protocol to set priorities for the next day. I try to get at least two rounds of this in each week even when things are crazy, ensuring that momentum is never lost.

The Results

At least once a month I review my 20 Mile March document to ensure that I’m still focusing on the few activities which ACTUALLY move the needle for Swift Coffee Sourcing. And the results speak for themselves: my tiny team has been hugely successful with the launch of this new company. We’re currently at 3.5x our demand forecast just for the last 6 months. 

And even better: no matter what’s happening that day, I have a safety net to ensure the long-term isn’t sacrificed to the urgent. Regardless of the emotional state of the day, or what “vibes” are present, Swift moves forward. The positive flywheel keeps spinning up.

I’m curious to know what systems YOU use to keep your business thriving regardless of the vibes. Please share!