In college, I took a screenwriting class. One of the most important rules we learned was simple:
“If it doesn’t move the story forward, cut it.”
Great advice for movies.
Not always great training for real life.
Our favorite films have quietly conditioned us to move on fast. Scenes jump. Conversations end abruptly. Details disappear. And we’re expected to trust that somehow, everything worked itself out off-screen.
There’s no “Bye, love you” at the end of phone calls. No “I’ll send the calendar invite.” No “Can you confirm the details?” In movies, people just hang up and the story keeps rolling.
A perfect example: Elf.
Buddy asks Jovie out. She says yes. 🎉
They agree: “Thursday’s good.”
And my brain immediately spirals:
- Where are they meeting?
- What time?
- Dinner or activity?
- Casual or dressy?
- Does Buddy even have her phone number?
We’re supposed to suspend disbelief and assume there’s an invisible coordinator tying it all together.
Here’s the problem:
A lot of leaders operate the exact same way in real life.
They’re excellent at driving the story forward with vision, momentum, decisions,and big ideas. But they unintentionally skip the details that make the story actually happen. Follow-ups, confirmations, logistics, loose ends.
And without realizing it, they’re relying on an invisible coordinator that doesn’t exist.
Life doesn’t fill in the gaps the way movies do.
That’s where things break down. Meetings don’t happen. Balls get dropped. Opportunities stall. Not because the leader lacks vision, but because no one has been clearly empowered to own the details with proper context.
For many leaders, the solution isn’t trying harder or slowing themselves down.
It’s having a real, visible coordinator, an Executive Assistant they trust, who closes the loops, confirms the plans, and makes sure what should happen… actually does.
Stories move forward because someone is handling the details behind the scenes.
Leadership works the same way.If this resonates and you’ve been feeling that gap between intention and execution, you don’t need to solve it alone.
Micah Foster, Co-Owner
Micah Foster is a partner at Dream Support LLC who has been providing remote executive assistants to busy leaders who need administrative and organizational help for over five years.
He has a passion for creating and maintaining positive and productive work environments and empowering people to reach their full potential.