This FBS Podcast episode uses Washington’s 1776 crossing of the Delaware as a grounded, practical illustration of Critical Chain Project Management, focusing on how outcomes change when leaders design around constraints instead of relying on heroics. Set against collapsing morale, expiring enlistments, and severe time pressure, the episode explains how George Washington treated time as the binding constraint and deliberately built buffers into the system—extra boats, experienced operators like John Glover, synchronized execution, and schedule protection through a night crossing—so the operation could survive uncertainty. In contrast, the Hessian defenders at Trenton optimized locally for comfort and routine, storing their “buffers” in assumptions rather than readiness, which left them exposed to a critical-chain disruption. Framed for working-lands professionals and small business owners, the episode draws clear parallels to forestry, wood products, and project-driven work, showing how over-optimizing efficiency and running lean can create fragility, while constraint-based design preserves flow. The discussion closes by connecting this way of thinking to how CCPM and project flow are taught through Forest Business School programs, including the six-month Essentials course, and reinforces a simple takeaway: Washington succeeded not by gambling, but by designing a system that could absorb uncertainty.