The Volume Test
DECEMBER 1, 2025
If you find you or your team, hesitating, avoiding or self-protective in activities together, those behaviors are very likely translating into how you and/or they work together. Likewise, if you and your team are showing up boldly in activities, that will show up everywhere else, too.
Run your own “volume test.” Ask your team to do something small, public, slightly uncomfortable… and watch the reflex. That reflex is the culture.
The first time I asked a keynote audience to chant “No Matter What!” with me, I thought it would just be a fun moment of energy.
Turns out, it’s a diagnostic tool.
Because after doing this with hundreds of audiences around the world, I’ve noticed a pattern that’s so consistent it’s almost unsettling.
Fast-growing companies? They’re loud.
Stagnant or declining companies? You can barely hear them.
And it has nothing to do with vocal cords.
The chant is a cultural mirror
When I’m on stage and ask an audience to shout No Matter What, I’m not testing enthusiasm.
I’m testing something far more important:
How willing are people to commit in public?
How quickly can they move from hesitation to action?
How free are they from self-protection, image-management, and fear?
Because what I’ve seen… over and over… is this:
Growing organizations say it immediately, loudly, together.
No sideways glances.
No “I’ll go once I hear everyone else go.”
No hesitation.
Just: Boom.
All in.
But the groups struggling with performance? They’re quiet.
People look around first.
They wait.
They hold back.
They mumble.
And it’s not because they don’t believe in the message.
It’s because they’ve been trained, consciously or not, to protect themselves.
Hesitation on the outside = avoidance on the inside
When a room won’t even commit to a two-second chant, I can promise you they’re struggling with:
Avoiding difficult conversations
Withholding ideas
Waiting for permission
Playing safe instead of playing bold
Resignation disguised as professionalism
Worrying more about looking good than doing what works
The chant is just a surface-level symptom.
The real issue?
A culture where people don’t feel free to fully show up.
Fast-growth companies have a different reflex
The loudest rooms I’ve ever been in have shared one thing in common:
They act before they analyze.
They commit before they’re ready.
They trust each other enough to be seen… even if it’s uncomfortable.
That instinct shows up everywhere:
They make decisions faster.
They experiment more often.
They take ownership instead of passing it around.
They tell the truth sooner.
They move together, not in cautious little clusters.
You can feel the difference.
The chant just makes it obvious.
Because culture is built on behaviors. Not values on a wall
Anyone can say they value courage.
Anyone can claim to be bold.
But the real question is:
When it’s time to act, does the room lean in or shrink back?
That single moment tells you everything about:
How innovation will go
How change will land
How fast the team will move
Whether truth is spoken or avoided
How much potential is being left on the table
I’m not judging the volume, I’m listening for the culture.
Key Idea
How you show up anywhere, translates into how you show up everywhere. If you find you or your team hesitating, avoiding, or self-protective in activities together, that is very likely translating into your work together. Likewise, if you and your team are showing up bolding in activities, that will show up everywhere else, too.
Takeaway
Run your own “volume test.” Ask your team to do something small, public, slightly uncomfortable… and watch the reflex. That reflex is the culture.
Build your Movement
Where are you still waiting, hesitating, or protecting yourself instead of committing fully?
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