Hustle culture. Rise-and-grind. Productivity over…just about everything. 

Over the past decade, this mindset experienced a massive surge in relevance, with people believing that if they just worked harder and longer, they would succeed. 

No rest, only relentless effort. 

I saw the perils of hustle culture firsthand inside an emergent tech company that was, at the time, going through a LOT of growing pains. 

Our work together was focused on talent development. This gave me a window into the internal culture as the org transformed from a nimble startup to an established leader in their space. 

And what I heard over and over from their people was: We keep getting told that this work won’t last forever. That this is a special time. That the way through is to keep our heads down and grind, grind, grind…and then grind some more. 😮‍💨

The real story beneath all of that? The reason they were grinding was that leadership couldn't pick a direction. 

Leadership was doing everything. Pursuing every idea without making any tough trade-offs. Chasing every shiny new idea that passed by without letting go of anything along the way.

It’s one thing to encourage a bit of hustle when you’re marching after something deeply meaningful, compelling, and clear. That can be energizing for people and good for outcomes. 

But when you’re trying to do too much, the message of “work harder and we’ll get through” falls flat. When the root cause of all your hustle is a lack of strategic clarity, that’s a one-way ticket to burnout.

If you’ve been following this newsletter, you know what time it is. ⏰ Here’s the final Lie We Love, and why August believes is holding companies back:

Lie #3: Working Harder Leads To Better Results 

When progress stalls, the default response in many organizations is to push harder. Do more with less. Grind. Hustle. Stay late. Send another round of emails at midnight. If we just squeeze more effort out of everyone, surely we’ll get the results we need.

It’s a tempting belief. And a persistent one. But if you’ve tried this approach, you already know how the story ends.

Forcing teams to work harder, rather than smarter, doesn’t lead to better results. It leads to burnout, frustration, and sometimes a mass exodus of the talent you worked so carefully to hire. People get tired, creativity dries up, and suddenly, instead of moving forward, you’re spinning faster in place.

Effort alone will never compensate for broken ways of working. In fact, telling people to work harder usually just makes the work itself harder.

This lie, alongside We Just Need a Better Strategy to Win and Superstar Talent Leads to Superstar Teamwork, still shapes how most organizations think about performance. 

But the truth is that strategy, talent, and effort aren’t the solution. They’re essential, but they’re just not enough. The world they were born in—a simpler, slower, more predictable one— is gone. For today’s world, we need a new way of working. 

And it’s my sincere belief that Teams That Meet The Moment will help you and your team revolutionize your approach to work for the better. Come May, I hope you’ll pick up a copy. 📗

Karina Mangu-Ward

Partner, August Public