She Thought She Had No Choice. I Showed Her Three.
She walked in with her mind made up.
I'd spoken at an event where she'd heard me talk about navigating transitions in medical practices, and she reached out immediately afterward to book a VIP day session.
"I need to prepare for an exit. I have no choice. The clinic is too much, I'm burned out, and I need to be done in the next six months."
She'd already started thinking about potential buyers. She'd mentally checked out. In her mind, this was a done deal—she just needed help executing.
I asked her one question: "Why do you think selling is your only option?"
Long pause.
"Because... I can't keep doing this. And I don't see any other way forward."
That's when I knew: she didn't have a clarity problem. She had a telescope problem.
When You're Too Close to See Clearly
Here's what happens when you're in the weeds of your business:
Everything feels urgent. Everything feels impossible. And the path that offers immediate relief looks like the only path.
For her, that path was selling. Exit the practice. Walk away. Be done.
But when we telescoped out and looked at the full landscape, here's what became clear:
She didn't actually want to exit. She wanted to stop feeling overwhelmed. She wanted her life back. She wanted the practice to work without consuming her.
Those are different problems. With different solutions.
The Three-Scenario Framework
I don't let clients operate from "I have no choice." Because that's almost never true.
So we spent the morning building three distinct scenarios for her practice. Not one. Three.
Each with clear 90-day action steps. Each with different tradeoffs. Each viable.
Scenario 1: Build a network of potential partners or buyers.
This was her original plan. So we mapped it out fully.
Target: have meaningful conversations with 15 potential partners or buyers over the next 90 days (roughly one per week, plus follow-ups)
Clean up financials to make the practice attractive
Document all processes and systems
Get the practice valued so she knew what she was working with
When we laid it out, she realized: this path was possible. But it would require significant energy at a time when she was already depleted. And she might be rushing into something without understanding all her options.
Scenario 2: Find a partner with operational expertise.
What if she didn't exit completely, but brought someone in who could handle the operational side?
Identify what operational expertise she actually needed (billing, scheduling, HR, vendor management?)
Network to find someone who could come in as a managing partner or operations director
Negotiate a partnership structure where she maintained ownership but got operational relief
Shift her role to patient care and strategic growth—the parts she actually loved
This path meant she'd maintain ownership and upside, but she'd have to be willing to share decision-making and potentially equity.
Scenario 3: Sell but maintain a small clinical presence for personal brand building.
What if she sold the administrative burden but kept a curated patient practice?
Find a buyer who would let her maintain a small clinical presence (maybe 10-15 hours a week with her favorite patients)
Negotiate terms that let her stay connected to patient care without operational responsibility
Use the reduced clinical time to build her personal brand, speak, write, consult
This path meant she'd get financial relief and operational freedom, but maintain the clinical connection that gave her purpose.
The Shift
We walked through all three scenarios. The action steps for the next 30, 60, and 90 days. The tradeoffs. The likely outcomes.
And something shifted physically.
She sat taller. Her shoulders dropped. She got more energized.
And then she said it: "I feel so much better now that I have a clear roadmap for the next 30 days through 90 days. In 90 days, my situation is going to be so much different."
She stopped saying "I have to exit."
She started saying "I need to figure out what I actually want."
That's a completely different problem. With completely different solutions.
By the end of our session, she'd chosen Scenario 2: find a partner with operational expertise.
She's currently in conversations with potential operations partners. She's documenting what she actually needs help with. And for the first time in months, she's excited about the future of the practice instead of just wanting to escape it.
She might still sell eventually. But now it'll be strategic, not desperate. And she'll know exactly what she's building toward.
Why "No Choice" Is Usually Wrong
When clients tell me they have no choice, what they usually mean is:
"I can only see one option from where I'm standing."
That's not the same as having no choice. That's being too close to see clearly.
My job is to help them telescope out. To see the full landscape. To build multiple scenarios so they can choose strategically instead of reactively.
Because here's the truth: you almost always have options. You just can't see them when you're overwhelmed, burned out, or stuck in the weeds.
What Telescoping Out Actually Does
When you pull back and look at the whole landscape:
Urgency dissolves. What felt like "I need to decide NOW" becomes "I have time to think this through strategically."
Options appear. What felt like one path becomes three, five, seven possibilities.
Clarity emerges. What felt overwhelming becomes manageable. What felt impossible becomes a series of concrete next steps.
You can breathe. Decision-making stops feeling like crisis management and starts feeling like leadership.
That's the shift I create for clients. Not by giving them answers, but by helping them see what they can't see when they're too close.
The Framework
Here's how I help clients move from "no choice" to clear options:
Step 1: Telescope out.
Pull back from the immediate crisis. Look at the full landscape. What's actually true vs. what just feels true in this moment?
Step 2: Build multiple scenarios.
Never just one path. Always at least three. Each viable. Each with different tradeoffs.
This forces strategic thinking instead of reactive decision-making.
Step 3: Map 90-day action steps for each.
Scenarios without action steps are just ideas. Make them concrete. What actually happens in the next 30, 60, 90 days for each path?
Step 4: Clarify tradeoffs.
No perfect option exists. Every path has costs. Get clear on what you're trading for what.
Step 5: Choose based on integration—head, heart, gut.
Which path aligns with data (head), values (heart), and instinct (gut)?
When all three point the same direction, you have your answer.
What's Possible
The clients who come to me saying "I have no choice" almost always leave with clarity, options, and a concrete plan.
Not because I gave them answers they didn't have. But because I helped them telescope out and see what they couldn't see from where they were standing.
That's the work. And it changes everything.
The Question
What decision are you facing right now where you feel like you have no choice?
What if you're just too close to see the options?
What would become visible if you telescoped out and looked at the full landscape?
You probably have more paths forward than you think.
If this resonated, share it with another leader who's feeling stuck with "no choice."
Onward and Upward,
Kasey
P.S. If you're facing a decision where you feel like you have no choice, this is exactly what I do in ½ day and full day VIP strategic advisory sessions. I help you telescope out, build multiple scenarios with concrete 90-day action steps, and see options you can't see when you're too close. Reply to this email and let's talk.