Prime (noun)
the state or time of greatest vigour or success in a person’s life.

Hi, I’m Jason. This is where I share openly about the challenges, insights and lessons from my own journey. My hope is that these thoughts spark reflections that help you navigate your own path to living better and leading better. 

Jason Leavy
Founder

Prime Perspective:
Reflections on Leadership and Growth

"Name one financial metric that is not impacted by a human being and how they feel.”

– Zach Mecurio

You can't. Because there isn't one.

Yet here we are, obsessed with the numbers while ignoring the people behind them.

We've built an entire business culture around the illusion that feelings are somehow separate from performance, or that they are a fundamental flaw that is an inhibitor of performance. 

Science tells us the exact opposite.

Emotions ARE Your Data

Your nervous system is constantly processing information from your environment and sending signals throughout your body. This isn't some woo-woo concept – it's called interoception, and it's happening whether you're paying attention or not.

• When you walk into that difficult conversation with a knot in your stomach, that's data.

• When you feel a surge of energy after a breakthrough in a negotiation, that's data.

• When you're physically exhausted despite your Oura ring showing "adequate" sleep, that's data.

These signals are critical performance indicators and your ability to tune into them and interpret them can be a game-changer.

Sounds like a statement of the obvious, but I’m seeing too many leaders dismiss their internal signals as “unreliable" compared to the external data they rely on for critical decision-making. Let me explain…

The Cost of Ignoring Your Instincts

We all know the power of ‘hard’ data, but a critical leadership skill is knowing how to tune into your own data so you can show up at your best. Let me give you some examples:

• You override the signal that you're running on empty because of your existing commitments.

• You ignore the gut instinct that something's off with the current group dynamic because it’s not showing in the numbers yet.

• You go to a PT and effectively outsource agency over your body, even though the sessions feel more like punishment than progress and you’re not feeling the benefits.

• You buy the latest piece of longevity tech because you secretly hope it will transform your situation for you.  

Gut instinct and intuition are frequently dismissed as ‘woo-woo’ because they don’t generate hard numbers, but this is a huge mistake.

Don’t believe me? Then tell me the last time you saw an elite sprinter checking their Apple watch as they hit the home straight?

I’m being slightly facetious, as hard data has a place in any high performer’s playbook when it comes to preparation, but my point is that when an elite athlete is in the arena, they’re so tuned in to their own data that they can interpret every single signal their brain and body is telling them. 

As Harvard Business School professor Laura Huang demonstrates in ‘You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition’,  what we call ‘gut instinct’ isn't mystical, it's your brain processing patterns faster than your conscious mind can articulate.

Her research shows that leaders who develop and trust their intuition make more effective decisions, particularly in complex, ambiguous environments where traditional data analysis falls short.

However, if you don’t, the consequences can be severe.

The Dangers Of Ignoring Your Blindspot

You will have heard last week how I came close to burnout by overriding my own signals. I had all the external markers of success, but internally I was struggling. My body and brain were telling me something wasn't right. I just wasn't truly listening and I certainly wasn’t acting. 

The truth is that I was stuck in the pain of the familiar, convincing myself that if I just kept on keeping on, things would somehow improve. When I look back now, I was actually the driver in my own slow-motion car crash. 

When you consistently override your internal signals, science shows there's a steep price to pay:

Prolonged stress doesn't just feel uncomfortable, it physically alters your brain structure. Research published in Current Opinion in Psychiatry shows that sustained cortisol elevation actually shrinks the prefrontal cortex (the region responsible for strategic thinking and decision-making). The leader who prides themself on being ‘always on’ over a prolonged period is literally diminishing their leadership capacity.

While my PPL colleague Samira Cutts will tell you how she’s frequently had to deal with clinical cases involving severe headaches, digestive and immune issues, that have all stemmed from long-term stress. 

Connecting The Dots

You don't have to choose between your Whoop strap and your gut instinct. Between biometric data and how you actually feel.

The most sophisticated performance monitoring system ever developed is the one you already own – your nervous system, processing millions of data points every second and translating them into signals you can read if you're willing to pay attention.

External tools can validate what your body already knows. But your internal wisdom is the primary system.

When you understand that every financial metric you track – every single one – flows from human decisions made by people in particular emotional and physical states, you can better understand why you need to optimise your own. 

Start working on interpreting the most accurate performance data you'll ever have access to: what your body and brain is telling you. It’s a skill that can be developed and it’s potentially your ultimate competitive advantage.