The Bike I Couldn’t Fix: Why Leaders Need Better Tools Than Determination Alone

Some childhoods are measured in school years or summer vacations. Mine could just as easily be measured in kilometers pedaled. My bike was my freedom machine—reliable, fast, and always in some state of disrepair. Those never-ending fixes taught me more about leadership than I realized at the time, though not always in the ways I hoped.

For years, my bike was my constant companion. I rode it everywhere—school, friends’ houses, the lake, the grocery store, anywhere I could get to under my own power. Naturally, something was always breaking: flat tires, loose chains, misaligned brake pads, temperamental gear shifters. And naturally, I believed I could fix all of it myself.

To be fair, I tried. Repeatedly.

Armed with determination, a wrench that didn’t quite fit anything, and an optimism I now recognize as borderline delusional, I attempted every repair imaginable. And almost every attempt ended the same way: the original problem remained, plus a new one I had unintentionally introduced. Sometimes bolts went missing. Sometimes springs shot across the room. Sometimes—I still don’t know how—I ended up with leftover parts I swear had not existed before I began.

Eventually my dad would intervene, or the bike shop would rescue the mangled remains of my mechanical confidence. The real culprit was simple: I didn’t have the right tools. Not the right wrenches. Not the correct screwdrivers. Not even the proper tire levers. I had determination and creativity—but neither can substitute for an actual toolkit.

Years later, my wife started calling me “MacGyver”—a nickname I’ve come to accept with a mix of pride and resignation. She’s not wrong: I’ll still try to fix almost anything with improvisation and enthusiasm. But adulthood has also taught me a more pragmatic truth.

It took me years to understand that what I learned from those chaotic, half-successful repairs wasn’t about mechanics at all. It was about leadership—and about the difference between effort and effectiveness.

1. Determination is admirable, but it cannot replace proper tools.

As a child, I believed I could fix anything if I tried hard enough. In business, that mindset looks a lot like hustle culture—the belief that sheer effort solves everything. But without the right systems, people, technology, or expertise, effort just accelerates the damage.

Leaders succeed not because they try harder but because they equip themselves—and their teams—with the right tools from the start.

2. Knowing when to call in an expert is a strength, not an admission of defeat.

My dad and the bike shop saved me repeatedly. Leadership works the same way. There’s power in recognizing when the problem exceeds your skill set. Calling an expert early typically saves time, money, and morale. Waiting until the wheels literally fall off rarely ends well.

Humility is a strategic asset.

3. Improvisation is useful—until it becomes a liability.

Improvisation kept my childhood projects interesting. But it also meant I sometimes “solved” one problem by creating two new ones. In business, improvisation has a role, but it must be applied carefully. There’s a difference between resourcefulness and recklessness.

A disciplined process beats duct-tape ingenuity nine times out of ten.

4. A leader’s job is to reduce leftover parts, not create them.

Those mysterious extra components after a repair attempt were a symptom of deeper issues: unclear understanding, weak structure, or missing tools. In business, leftover parts show up as abandoned initiatives, duplicated workflows, unclear roles, or half-baked strategies.

Strong leadership aligns the pieces—so none are left on the table.

5. The journey still matters—but outcomes matter more.

The thrill of doing it myself was real, but it never got my bike on the road. Leaders must balance the joy of building with the discipline of delivering. A good process is not a substitute for a functional outcome.

Looking back, my bike was never just a bike. It was an ongoing lesson in resourcefulness, humility, and the importance of equipping yourself properly. I still have a bit of MacGyver in me—old habits die hard—but I’ve learned that the best leaders aren’t defined by how many problems they try to fix themselves.

They’re defined by how they build systems, teams, and toolkits that keep the whole organization rolling smoothly, no spare parts left behind.