What Your “Baloney Sandwich” Is Costing You

Written with assistance from ChatGPT

Introduction

One of the hardest things in business isn’t strategy, skills, or capital — it’s ownership. We complain about things we could change, while refusing to change them.

We often complain about outcomes we dislike while continuing to make the same decisions that produce them. Over time, frustration builds — not because change is impossible, but because it feels uncomfortable.

A Story That Isn’t Just About Lunch

There’s a well-known story, often attributed to John Maxwell, about a construction worker who opens his lunchbox every day to find the same baloney sandwich.

Day after day, he complains about it to his colleagues.

Eventually, one of them gets tired of hearing it and asks:

“Why don’t you ask your wife to make you something different?”

The man looks up and replies:

“My wife doesn’t make my lunch.
I make my own lunch.”

The point of the story isn’t the sandwich.
It’s the moment of realisation.

We often complain most loudly about situations we have far more control over than we’re willing to admit.

Your “Baloney Sandwich” in Business

In small companies, the same pattern shows up in familiar ways:

• Waiting for “the market to improve” while ignoring internal bottlenecks

• Complaining about cash flow while delaying pricing or cost decisions

• Wanting better clients but avoiding the discomfort of tighter criteria

At some point, the issue stops being external.

You’re not frustrated with your business.
You’re frustrated with the decisions — or indecision — that shaped it.

What to Do Instead

Progress rarely starts with big strategic moves.
It starts with ownership.

Instead of tolerating conditions you resent:

• Name the behaviours you are responsible for

• Identify what you can realistically change this week

• Start with the smallest action that breaks the pattern

Change doesn’t begin with blame or optimism.
It begins with acknowledging ownership — and choosing differently.