In Mission Blue, the compelling documentary that follows oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle’s lifelong crusade to protect the oceans, one moment in particular stayed with me. A voice noted that the ocean, from the surface, always looks the same. Calm. Blue. Infinite.

But beneath that glassy surface, ecosystems are collapsing. Coral reefs are bleaching. Species are vanishing. Acidification is rising. And unless you dive deep—or at the very least, drop a sensor—you wouldn’t know anything is wrong.

It struck me that businesses are often the same.

Who is Sylvia Earle?

Dr. Sylvia Earle—marine biologist, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, and former chief scientist at NOAA—is a pioneer of deep-sea exploration. She’s logged more than 7,000 hours underwater. She’s built submersibles. She’s led missions. She’s been called “Her Deepness.”

But she’s also had to fight for visibility in a male-dominated field, often dismissed or doubted because of her gender. More than once, she’s spoken about how people would marvel at her courage as a woman—not her brilliance as a scientist.

Her challenge? To make people care about what they can’t see—the invisible systems that are unraveling right under our noses and to get decision-makers to act before it’s too late.

And that’s not just her struggle. That’s mine, too.

Most of my work begins with a quiet frustration. I see where things are drifting. I sense what’s misaligned. But from the outside, the business still looks fine—sometimes even thriving. And so the reflex for the owner, manager or leader, is to ignore the warning signs, and to keep paddling on the surface, business as usual.

But just like in the ocean, ignoring the undercurrents doesn’t make them disappear.

When leaders wait until everything breaks to start aligning, the cost is so much higher. And the truth is, most people don’t realize how off-track they are until they see it in the numbers… or in the silence of a team that’s no longer engaged.

That’s why I do what I do. To make the invisible visible. To help businesses look beneath the surface before it’s too late.

Assumptions that Hide the Truth

Just like people assume the ocean is “fine” because it looks fine from above, leaders often assume their business is “doing fine” because:

• The brand still looks polished.
• The meetings are still happening.
• Revenue is coming in (sort of).
• People aren’t complaining (loudly).

But what if the real metrics—the ones that matter—are pointing to an entirely different story?

• Employee turnover is creeping up.
• Repeat clients are fading away.
• Team members are disengaged.
• Nobody really knows what’s driving the business anymore.

It’s easy to skip the deep dive when the surface looks OK. But Sylvia Earle reminds us: the real story is almost never on the surface.

Numbers ≠ Knowledge

The other challenge? Many leaders are either:

• Looking at the wrong numbers (vanity metrics),
• Not looking at any numbers (flying blind),
• Or don’t know how to interpret the ones they do see.

That’s like trying to assess ocean health by counting the waves.

Real alignment—like real ecosystem health—requires visibility into what actually sustains life: the conditions, the relationships, the signals of balance or breakdown. In business, that means your people, your processes, your clients, your story, and your rhythm.

Strategic Alignment Prompt:
What seems fine on the surface in your business—but might actually be drifting off course beneath?

If you’re not sure which numbers matter—or you’re relying on guesswork instead of grounded alignment—let’s have a Clarity Conversation™. One dive beneath the surface could change everything.