357. This Is The Part Where Everything Breaks

We're in an 80-year cycle and I'm not sure your leadership will survive.

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We are in the midst of an existential crisis in America.

It’s not a surprise, it’s a pattern.
It happens every 80 years.

In the 1780s it was the Revolutionary War
80 years later, the Civil War
80 years after that, World War II

And now, after another 80 years, here we are. Another major crisis.

Why does this happen every 80 years?
The answer is actually pretty simple.

Because 80 years is roughly the length of one human life. A generation comes and goes in that time. And all those hard-earned lessons they learned from the last revolution - they disappear with them.

The new generations inherit the systems that were created in the last Crisis - but there’s no longer any context. No scars from the fights that created the systems in the first place.

So when cracks appear in the institutional infrastructure - which inevitably they do - we all assume the institutions will survive intact. We assume the world will maintain its status quo. And it does.

Until it doesn’t.

The Four Phases Of The 80-Year Cycle

There are four phases to the 80-Year cycle, each lasting 20 years (which, as it turns out, coincides with the different phases of the generations maturity). They are:

Crisis :: Everything breaks. We rebuild.

High :: We celebrate what we built. Institutions grow strong. Society accepts and conforms to the new rules.

Awakening :: The next generation rebels. They want rules with more meaning, not more comfort.

Unraveling :: Institutions lose authority. Individualism rises as people revolt.

Then Crisis comes around again.

Right now, the United States is transitioning from Unraveling into Crisis.

That’s why everything feels like it’s breaking.
Because it is.

And, if history teaches us anything, it’s going to get worse.

It’s Going To Get Worse. It Always Does

Here’s what you need to understand:

This isn’t just about the world. Or the country. Or your state. It’s also about your company. And it’s about you.

We are all in the Unraveling together.

Authority doesn’t work like it used to. The institutions we’ve trusted in the past are no longer trustworthy. People are fighting for independence and personal freedom instead of falling in line.

This is why your team will no longer respond to your insistence that they “trust the process” or “just believe” you. Those tactics are over. They don’t work.

You think it’s you. You think it’s your team. Maybe you think it’s your industry.

It is… but it’s not.
It’s the cycle.
And it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

We’re heading into Crisis.

The systems you’ve relied on - the ones that felt stable, predictable and manageable your entire life - they‘re going to break.
Some already have.
A lot more are coming.

This is revolution time.

Every 80 years we get here.
Revolutionary War. Civil War. World War II.
It’s like clockwork.

Sometimes the revolution is global. Sometimes it’s national. But it’s always personal.

It’s always a revolution over aging beliefs.
It always transforms global dynamics.

The Revolutionary War wasn’t just political - it rewired how people thought about authority and governance.

The Civil War didn’t just end slavery - it destroyed the economic and social systems the country was built upon.

World War II didn’t just stop fascism - it destroyed and rebuilt the global world order.

And it was that moment - the birth, growth and ultimate disappearance of the Boomer generations experiences - that led us to this.

This is the same kind of moment.

You can’t stop it.
You can’t slow it down.
And you definitely can’t sit on the sidelines and wait it out.

You can’t avoid the Unraveling. You can only choose how you move through it.

This is about global world order, but it’s also about your leadership. They are one and the same.

You alone can’t change the world. But you can adapt your leadership style. You can stop clinging to what worked in a different phase and start building for the phase we’re in now.

Or you can keep pushing your soon-to-be outdated tactics. Good luck with that.

The Problem With The 80-Year Cycle

If what I’m saying resonates with you - if you recognize where we are in the 80-Year cycle and feel like leadership doesn’t work like it used to - you may also realize that there’s a problem.

And the problem is you.

Here’s why:

People always view the world through the lens of the era they came of age in. There’s a damn good chance that you’re mentally stuck in the wrong phase.

If you’re a Boomer, you grew up in the High phase. Wealth was created. Institutions were trusted. Authority mattered to you. You climbed the ladder because the ladder was stable. And the ladder brought a lot of wealth. In many cases, generational wealth.

If you’re Gen X, you came of age during the Awakening. In fact, you created the Awakening. You pushed back against conformity and wanted independence. You still believed in the systems, but you wanted to do it your way. And so a generation of entrepreneurial minds was born.

And now, whatever your generation, you’re suddenly leading in the Unraveling, heading into Crisis.

But you’re still leading with the tactics you learned in the High or Awakening-phase. So if you feel that it’s getting tougher to lead, that’s the gale force wind of the Unraveling demanding change.

You probably assume your team will “trust the vision” because you announced it. You believe your authority will work because it’s always worked in the past. You expect people to fall in line because that’s what people did when you were rising up.

They won’t.
Not anymore.
Not in this phase.
Not with this generation.

Pushing your older phase tactics is like showing up to a street fight with a PowerPoint deck. Nobody cares what you’re doing, and you’re going to lose that fight pretty quickly.

To Succeed In The 80-Year Cycle

To succeed in today’s new world order, you need a completely different relationship with your team. One built on greater transparency, not authority. On truth and authenticity, not vapid vision statements.

You need a completely different decision-making process. One that acts with confidence, not consensus. Because consensus isn’t coming anymore.
That ship has sunk.

You need to create a completely different relationship with your systems. You have to adapt them before they all break. Because breaking is exactly what happens when the world is Unraveling.

This isn’t a to-do list. It’s a fundamental shift in how you see your role.

And most leaders won’t make it through.
Not because they’re bad leaders. But because they’re still fighting the wrong war and won’t let it go.

The 80-Year Cycle Choice

You’ve got two options:

1. Adapt now. or

2. Wait until the system breaks you.

I honestly can’t tell you exactly what “adapt” looks like without a discussion. Because your company is different. Your team is different. The systems and culture you’ve built are different.

But I can tell you this:

Understanding the 80-year cycle won’t make your leadership job easier. But it can help you stop fighting the wrong war.

Because the revolution is happening whether you’re ready or not.
And that means leadership is more important than ever.

When institutions fail and revolutions begin, leaders step up.

Not because it’s easy.
Not because they have all the answers.

But because somebody has to.

And if you’re reading this, that somebody is you.

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