Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?

Heuristics, high performance, and hard-won wisdom for the ambitious.

“Will it make the boat go faster?”

This single question drove Ben Hunt-Davis and his British rowing team to Olympic Gold in the 2000 Sydney Games.

This question might be the single most powerful filter for success I’ve ever encountered.

It’s simple.
It’s sharp.
And it cuts through your excuses like a hot knife through your bullshit.

Will It Make the Boats Go Faster?

In 2000, Ben Hunt-Davis and the British Men’s Rowing Eight weren’t favored to win anything.

They were strong. Talented. Had moments of brilliance.

But for years?
They lost.

They weren’t just chasing gold — they were chasing clarity. Because every training session, every meal, every hour of rest or distraction had a cost.

So they asked one question before every decision:

Will it make the boat go faster?

Not “Does this feel good?”
Not “Have we earned a break?”
Not “What are the other teams doing?”

Will it make the boat go faster?

If the answer was yes, they did it.
If the answer was no, it was out.

This question became a mental filter, a mantra, a collective operating system.

And by the Sydney Olympics in 2000 — they weren’t underdogs anymore.
They were champions.

Gold medal.
World record.
And a damn good heuristic for winning anything in life.

Find Your Filters

I live by filters, too.

Mental heuristics.
Spiritual mantras.
Operational codes.

Call them what you want — they are the decision shortcuts I run my life through.

Here are a few:

• “The goal isn’t to be right, but to get it right.”
  Ego off. Truth on. Results first. My team gets sick of hearing this, but it’s a Leadership x Performance unlock that most miss.

• “…of service.”
  A reminder that leadership means clearing the path for others, not sitting on top of it.

• “Grace upon grace.”
  (John 1:16)
  A personal north star: understand before you judge. Always.

These filters (and others) help me stay sharp when I’m tired, unfocused, or tempted by comfort.

They’re how I avoid the entropy of mediocrity.

When I find myself not listening to others or being too stubborn with my own beliefs, “the goal isn’t to be right, but to get it right.”

When I get a little too authoritarian or selfish, “…of service.”

When I do not appreciate how someone is acting or speaking to me, “grace upon grace.”

Not perfect; progress.

Woody Allen Was Full of Sh*t

“90 percent of success is showing up…” ~ Woody Allen

Woody Allen is wrong.

Ninety percent of success is NOT showing up.

This is bullshit, in my opinion.

Showing up is the bar…it’s the least amount of effort you can give. It might be 5 percent of success…maybe.

Anyone can show up (and I know that’s his point). But what he’s advocating is that taking even the most minimal effort can get you in the game.

What he misses is that getting into the game isn’t success, at least not any kind of success worth a damn.

It’s a participation trophy.

You’re not doing this work for a participation trophy.

I sure as hell am not.

“90 percent of success is showing up…” fucking nonsense.

Any unskilled, untested, undedicated buffoon can decide to show up.

And no doubt, at some point we’re all unskilled, untested, buffoons…but we can’t stop there.

• You’re disciplined,

• You’re practiced, and most of all,

• You’ve taken ownership of your personal agency.

Ok.

So if the heuristic isn’t showing up, what is it?

Well, before we get there, let’s just clear up this Woody Allen thing…

Ninety percent of success is Focus.

For someone with ADHD, focus comes at a premium. You are compelled to prioritize focus and all the necessary methods to achieve it.

The Main Thing

Stephen Covey nailed it:

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

At Rogue Risk, our main thing is premium production — new business.

Everything we do is passed through that lens:

Will this help us write more premium?
Yes → it goes on the roadmap.
No → it gets tabled.

Focus means choosing.
Focus means sacrificing.

If you focus on service while claiming you want growth — you’re in maintenance mode, not acceleration.

If you focus on small accounts while dreaming of whales — guess what?

You’re a guppy wrangler.

re: Will It Make the Boats Go Faster?

This is the focus heuristic. Sharper. More practical. More visceral.

It doesn’t just work in the gym or office.

It works in every aspect of your life.

This is the winning heuristic.

Simple, obvious, and easy to remember.

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?

This framing of focus expands beyond any singular aspect of your life.

Let’s say you’re a salesperson looking to increase your productivity.

Will having a drink at night help you sell more?

No. Alcohol destroys the quality of your sleep, dehydrates you, and increases blood pressure.

All of which reduces the cognitive capacity of your brain, including and most importantly, your willpower to push through the day.

Will eating that donut help you sell more?

No. Your blood sugar is going to spike, giving you a brief rush of uncontrolled energy followed by a massive crash.

Your body, craving its next sugar spike, will release chemicals that tell your brain to focus on finding another donut instead of selling more stuff.

Will multitasking help you sell more?

No. Multitasking isn’t a real thing. Even Ron Swanson knows that…

“Never half-ass two things. Whole ass one thing.”

Here are a few more for you…

• Will staying up and scrolling social media help you sell more?

• Will skipping your morning workout help you sell more?

• Will being pessimistic help you sell more?

• Will letting important personal relationships fall apart help you sell more?

• Will indulging in negative self-talk help you sell more?

• Will ignoring feedback and criticism help you sell more?

• Will refusing to adapt to new sales strategies help you sell more?

• Will working alone rather than collaborating with your team help you sell more?

If the answer is “No,” don’t fucking do it.

Focus is the key to success, not some stupid platitude like "Showing up.”

This applies to all aspects of our personal lives as well.

• Do you want to be a great parent? Focus on it.

• Do you want to be a great partner, lover, and companion? Focus on it.

• Do you want to be a great friend? Focus on it.

No excuses…

The Rub

You’re not here for a “decent” life.

You’re not reading Finding Peak because you want a comfy seat on the mediocrity bus.

You want to win.
To grow.
To be pushed beyond your previous limits.

To do that, you need clarity, not complexity.

You need heuristics — reliable filters that free up brainpower for harder, more meaningful problems.

This is why they matter so much.

These are a few of mine. I’ll share more over time.

But here’s what I want from you:

What are your heuristics?

What mental mantras or personal filters do you live by?

Drop them in the comments. Let’s build a collective vault of wisdom here.

Iron sharpens iron.

This is the way.
— Hanley

P.S. If you enjoyed this essay, you’ll love my podcast, The Ryan Hanley Show.