1. 🎯 Are you still playing yesterday’s game?
At Rachael Ray, we depended on Facebook to drive traffic to our recipes. When the algorithm shifted, we had to scramble to recover the lost views. We were caught playing yesterday’s SEO game while the goalposts moved. Make sure your strategies align with today’s rules, not yesterday’s.

2. 🛡️ Are you prioritizing the right things?
At ET, we strategically cut display ads and reduced articles to emphasize streaming and video. We optimized for less real estate but higher-value user behavior and the engagement metrics proved us right. Protect your core, but challenge its sustainability.

3. 🚀 Are you setting yourself up for success?
When revitalizing library shows like Judge Judy and Charmed, I used AI to parse content and identify the highest-value pieces. We skipped display ads entirely and went straight to social and streaming distribution. Disruptive AI tools are here and your competitors are already using them.

4. 👥 Are you stress-testing your decision-making?
When I was launching the ET FAST channel, I wanted to think audience-first. I looked outside our brand and partnered with BET, MTV, and Awesomeness to create an offering that served our fans better than we could alone. Every decision should start with attracting and retaining your people.

Assess every business line and product through four lenses:

• Revenue potential (immediate and 12-month outlook)
• Audience engagement (quality over quantity)
• Strategic alignment (does this serve your future?)
• Resource efficiency (maximum impact, minimum investment)

Tough calls are inevitable. The leaders who make them strategically, rather than reactively, will emerge stronger.

If your business is in triage mode and you need battle-tested frameworks, let’s talk.