This Is Harder than I Want It to Be

By Linda van EgmondBusiness Entrepreneurship Management

This Is Harder than I Want It to Be episodes

June 18Your Business Needs to Work Without You
Thought you were building a team, but it still feels like everything depends on you? In this episode, Linda breaks down what actually has to change for your business to run without you and gives you a practical 90-day roadmap to make it real.
Link to Operational Assessment
Free Scoping Session with Linda
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: The real question isn’t “can you take a vacation?” It’s “would the business still function if you had to disappear for two weeks with no warning?”
Reality Check: A founder’s sudden family emergency revealed the hidden problem: the team wasn’t incompetent, they just didn’t have clarity on decisions, priorities, or what “good” looked like.
The Shift: A business that runs without you is built on three foundations: documentation, empowered people, and an operational rhythm that maintains itself.
The Move: A simple 90-day roadmap to build a business that doesn’t bottleneck at you:
Month 1: Get it out of your head (brain dump + document one core process that the team actually uses)
Month 2: Build the rhythm (weekly alignment meeting + issues list + five-number scorecard)
Month 3: Transfer and test (delegate with clear success/decision/check-ins, then take 3 days fully off and fix what breaks)

The Wrap: Frameworks don’t run businesses. Implemented systems do. Pick the one operational problem that would free up the most time and energy and start there.
Key Takeaway: If your business can’t run without you, it can’t scale and it can’t give you the freedom you started it for.
Ready to build systems that set you free? Connect with Linda on LinkedIn for more leadership tools and insights.
Mentioned in this Episode
Ep. 4 Your Team Can't Read Your Mind
Ep. 5 Stop Measuring Everything
Ep. 7 The Meeting That Saves Me 10 Hours A Week
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Start your Business Reality Check Now
15 min
June 04'Just Hire Someone' - That's Terrible Advice
When you’re overwhelmed, hiring sounds like the obvious fix. But if you don’t have clear outcomes and simple processes first, you’re not hiring help, you’re hiring more questions (and more chaos). In this episode, Linda shows you the “pre-hire” work that makes bringing someone on actually reduce your workload.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Hiring doesn’t solve overwhelm; it often turns chaos into expensive chaos.
Reality Check: A founder hired three people fast and ended up working more because nothing was defined or documented.
The Shift: The real problem isn’t headcount, it’s missing process. Patch the holes before you add more water.
The Move: The Pre-Hire Checklist to make hiring actually work:
Define the outcome (what “done” looks like)
Document the process (simple steps + decision points)
Test the process with someone else before you hire

The Wrap: Systems first, then people, if you want your time back.
Key Takeaway: If you can’t define success and document the steps, you’re not ready to hire, you’re ready to clarify.
Ready to patch the holes before you hire? Visit Connect with Linda on LinkedIn for more leadership tools and insights.
Ep. 6 It's not a process if it only works when you do it
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Click to start your Business Reality Check
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
10 min
May 21How Small Problems Become Big Fires
Ever notice how the thing that “wasn’t urgent” somehow becomes the thing that blows up your week? In this episode, Linda explains why small problems escalate when they have nowhere to land, and how a simple weekly ritual can keep issues from turning into emergencies.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: The real reason issues don’t surface early is usually the system, not the people.
Reality Check: A client complaint sat untouched for two weeks because it felt too big for chat but not big enough for a meeting.
The Shift: Treat problems like dashboard warning lights, you want the “yellow light” moment, not the “engine’s on fire” moment.
The Move: Use an Issues List to catch problems early:
Create one shared doc for issues as they arise.
Review the top 3 items in your weekly meeting.
Keep the review to 10 minutes, just long enough to decide what happens next.

The Wrap: A small, consistent container for issues prevents crises and protects focus.
Key Takeaway: Give problems a place to go while they’re still small, and they won’t turn into full-blown fires.
Ep. 7 The Meeting That Saves Me 10 Hours A Week
Ready to prevent small issues from turning into emergencies? Connect with Connect with Linda on LinkedIn for more leadership tools and insights.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Start your Business Reality Check Now
9 min
May 07The Meeting That Saves Me 10 Hours a Week
Your team is flooding you with messages and “quick syncs,” but somehow you still don’t know what’s actually getting done. In this episode, Linda breaks down the one 30-minute weekly meeting that replaces the chaos with a simple rhythm: everyone sees the same numbers, surfaces the real issues, and leaves with clear priorities.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Why constant Slack pings and endless meetings are usually a symptom of missing one key weekly rhythm.
Reality Check: How a growing team can create more interruptions when there’s no predictable place to get aligned.
The Shift: Structure creates flow, like traffic lights, not restriction; a weekly cadence makes information move instead of pile up.
The Move: The 30-Minute Alignment Meeting (and what to cover, nothing else):
Metrics (10 min): Review 5–7 vital numbers so everyone shares the same reality
Issues (10 min): Capture blockers in one shared list, then pick the top 3 and decide what happens next
Priorities (10 min): Set 3–5 must-do items for the week, assign owners, confirm deadlines

The Wrap: One consistent weekly meeting reduces urgent questions, prevents small issues from becoming fires, and gives you hours back.
Key Takeaway: Most meetings are filler, but one weekly alignment rhythm can replace ten interruptions.
Ready to create more flow (and fewer pings)? Visit Linda van Egmond Website for more leadership tools and insights.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Let's Connect on LinkedIn
Find Linda on LinkedIn
Connect with Linda on LinkedIn
Click to start your Business Reality Check
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
9 min
April 23It's Not A Process If It Only Works When YOU Do It
You take a day off and everything grinds to a halt, because the “process” is actually just you. In this episode, Linda van Egmond shows you how to turn what’s in your head into a system your team can run without constant check-ins.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Why your phone blows up the moment you step away, and what that reveals about your business.
Reality Check: How growth can increase pressure when the critical knowledge lives in one person’s head.
The Shift: A process doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to make the work repeatable without you.
The Move: The Dependency Audit to start removing you as the bottleneck:
Make two columns: “Things only I can do” vs. “Things only I do (but others could do)”
Pick 3 items from the second column to eliminate first
Document each one: trigger, outcome, steps, owner, decision points
Hand it off, coach once, then let it run at 80% (and maybe better)

The Wrap: Start with three processes, hand them off, and watch your time come back bit by bit.
Key Takeaway: If it only works when you do it, it’s not a process, it’s a problem you can fix.
Ready to get your time back? Visit Linda van Egmond Website for more leadership tools and insights.
Ep. 5 Stop Measuring Everything
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Let's Connect on LinkedIn
Find Linda on LinkedIn
Connect with Linda on LinkedIn
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Start your Business Reality Check Now
10 min
April 09Stop Measuring EVERYTHING: Measure What Moves
Thought more metrics would make things clearer, but you feel even more stuck? In this episode, Linda breaks down why tracking everything leads to overwhelm and inaction, and how to choose the handful of numbers that actually change your results.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: More dashboards do not mean more clarity when you do not know what to do next.
Reality Check: Tracking everything can paralyze you, but tracking nothing leaves you blind until it is too late.
The Shift: Lead indicators predict results and are the only numbers you can directly influence.
The Move: The Lead vs. Lag Test to simplify what you track:
Know the difference: lag indicators (results) vs lead indicators (actions).
Choose your lead indicators by asking what consistent actions create the outcome you want.
Pick 2 lead indicators for the month, then check them weekly: did you do the thing, yes or no?

The Wrap: You cannot control outcomes directly, but you can control actions and actions create results.
Key Takeaway: Stop measuring everything and start measuring what moves by tracking the actions that drive your results.
Ready to make it easier? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Click to start your Business Reality Check
10 min
March 26Your Team Can't Read Your Mind: How to Use the Vision Check-In
You have a clear vision in your head, but your team is building from an older version of it. That gap is where good work quietly goes off the rails. In this episode, you’ll learn why “I already told them” is rarely enough, and how a simple, repeatable check-in keeps everyone executing the same priority, with the same context, at the same time.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Your team is working hard, but still missing the mark, because they cannot execute the updates you never explicitly shared.
Reality Check: When your vision evolves in your head but not in your team’s understanding, they will confidently build the wrong thing.
The Shift: Your vision is not a one-time announcement. It is an ongoing conversation that needs regular reinforcement.
The Move: Use the Vision Check-In every quarter to keep alignment tight.
Ask: What do you think our top priority is right now? (Listen first, then calibrate.)
Ask: Why are we doing this? (Confirm they understand the bigger “why,” not just the task.)
Ask: What’s changed since we last talked about this? (Name the pivots, new insights, and updated focus.)
Optional: Create a short Context Document that answers what you are building, who it is for, what matters this quarter, and what changed, then update it quarterly.

The Wrap: If you are not sure everyone would give the same answer to “What’s our top priority?”, run the check-in this week and close the gap.
Key Takeaway: Your team cannot execute a vision they do not understand, and they cannot understand it if you only shared it once.
Ready to make it easier? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Start your Business Reality Check Now
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Let's Connect on LinkedIn
Find Linda on LinkedIn
Connect with Linda on LinkedIn
10 min
March 12Goals Keep Slipping? Why It Happens and How to Fix It.
It's the end of the quarter. You look at the goals you set 90 days ago and realize you did maybe one of them. The rest are still sitting on the list. In this episode, Linda breaks down why goals keep slipping and shares a simple weekly rhythm that makes your 90-day priorities actually happen.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Why ambitious 90-day goals quietly slide when there is no weekly rhythm to keep you connected to them
Reality Check: The real reason goals do not get done is not laziness or lack of discipline. It is overestimating capacity, letting life happen, and never building accountability into the plan
The Shift: Setting goals is like choosing a destination. If you do not check the route as you go, you can end up somewhere completely different
The Move: The 90-Day Rock System that turns goals into progress:
Pick 3 to 5 “Rocks” for the next 90 days instead of trying to do 10 to 15 things at once
Define what “done” looks like for each Rock so you can tell if you have actually completed it
Review weekly in a short check-in to see what is on track, what needs to happen next, and what is blocking progress
Celebrate at the end of the quarter, or course-correct without blame

The Wrap: The difference between goals that slip and goals that get done is a consistent 10 to 15 minute weekly review
Key Takeaway: Planning feels productive, but your progress comes from a simple rhythm of checking in, adjusting, and doing.
Ready to make it easier? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Ask Linda a Question
Do you have a question you'd like Linda to answer?
Send an email, drop a line on LinkedIn, or send a voicemail.
Send Linda a Voicemail
Click to start your Business Reality Check
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
10 min
February 26Strategy is Not A Plan: The Bridge Between to Action
You spent a full day on strategy. You mapped the vision, set the goals, and left energized. Then Monday happened, and that beautiful plan went straight into a drawer. In this episode, Linda shows you why your strategy stays stuck on paper and exactly how to bridge the gap between thinking and doing.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Why strategic plans feel productive but disappear the moment you're back at your desk
Reality Check: The pattern Linda kept seeing in strategy sessions—great alignment, zero follow-through, because no one bridged strategic thinking with operational doing
The Shift: Strategy without implementation is like meal planning without grocery shopping—just wishful thinking
The Move: The Strategy-to-Action Bridge that turns plans into progress:
End every strategy session by naming 3 things to do in the next 10 days
Assign owners and deadlines—actual names, actual dates
Block time on the calendar right then, before anyone leaves the room

The Wrap: The difference between a strategy that sits in a drawer and one that actually happens is 10 minutes of implementation planning
Key Takeaway: Planning feels productive, but it's not the same as doing.
Ready to turn your next strategy session into actual progress? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Start your Business Reality Check Now
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Ask Linda a Question
Do you have a question you'd like Linda to answer?
Send an email, drop a line on LinkedIn, or send a voicemail.
Send Linda a Voicemail
11 min
February 12Delegating vs. Dumping: Are You Bad at Delegating?
Thought you were bad at delegating? You're probably just bad at setting people up to succeed. In this episode, Linda breaks down why your team keeps coming back with questions and exactly how to fix it.
What You'll Learn:
00:00 The Hook: Why delegation feels like it's failing (hint: it's not about trust)
00:58 Reality Check: The story of founder Kate, whose capable team couldn't stop asking questions
02:06 The Shift: Delegation isn't about handing off tasks. It's about setting people up to win.
03:16 The Move: Three questions that change everything before you delegate:
What does success look like?
What can they decide without you?
How do we check in?

05:54 The Wrap: If delegation feels like micromanagement at first, you're doing it right.
Key Takeaway: Five minutes of clarity upfront saves hours of back-and-forth later.
Ready to delegate effectively? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ for more leadership tools and insights.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Click to start your Business Reality Check
Let's Connect on LinkedIn
Find Linda on LinkedIn
Connect with Linda on LinkedIn
11 min

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Simple shifts and smart moves for overwhelmed, mission-driven founders.

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This Is Harder than I Want It to Be

This Is Harder than I Want It to Be episodes

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