Goals vs. Reality + Your Diagnosis

Question 10: Goals vs. Reality + Your Diagnosis

This is the one I most want unvarnished. We've known each other long enough that I don't need you to walk me through the founding story or the editorial vision — what I want is your read on the gap.

Where did you want HuntingLife to be by 2026 when you set goals 3–5 years ago — and where is it actually? Not just the metrics — the brand position, the operational model, the personal lifestyle you wanted it to support, the legacy you wanted it to be building. What were you working to build, what got built, what didn't?

Specifics:

Pinnacle + POMA recognition without the commercial trajectory

2 Pinnacle Awards from POMA in 2023 and editorial credibility in the industry are wins. Why hasn't that recognition translated into the commercial trajectory you wanted? Where's the disconnect between brand strength and business strength?

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The 2 Pinnacle Awards from POMA in 2023 and your editorial credibility in the industry are wins. Why hasn't that recognition translated into the commercial trajectory you wanted? Where's the disconnect between brand strength and business strength?

What you've tried that didn't deliver

3–5 years of initiatives, partnerships, hires, platform changes, content pivots, sales pushes that didn't pay off. Walk me through one or two specific bets and your read on why.

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What have you tried over the last 3–5 years to close the gap — initiatives, partnerships, hires, platform changes, content pivots, sales pushes — that didn't deliver? Tell me about one or two specific bets that didn't pay off, and your read on why.

The single biggest thing holding HuntingLife back

Not the vendor answer, not the "if I just had more time" answer. The answer you've sat with. What is it?

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What's the single biggest thing holding HuntingLife back from being what you wanted it to be? Not the vendor answer, not the "if I just had more time" answer — the answer you've sat with. What is it?

Yourself five years from now — what would be true that isn't today?

If HuntingLife had become what you wanted, what about the business would be true that isn't true today?

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If you were sitting across from a version of yourself five years from now and HuntingLife had become what you wanted, what would be true about the business that isn't true today?
And the gut-check

Take a beat on this one before answering: what part of running HuntingLife are you doing because you genuinely want to, vs. because you feel like you have to?

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