Why Smart Climate Founders Still Make Bad Decisions

<p>Smart CEOs make bad decisions all the time. Often, the problem isn&#39;t intelligence; it&#39;s solving the wrong problem.</p><p>This minisode explores the Double Diamond framework, a decision-making tool that helps climate CEOs avoid premature conclusions and improve strategic choices.</p><ul><li><strong>The first diamond: discover and define the problem</strong> — Many leaders jump straight into execution mode. The Double Diamond encourages CEOs to first expand their understanding of the challenge before narrowing it to the real problem worth solving.</li><li><strong>The second diamond: develop and deliver solutions</strong> — Once the problem is clearly defined, leaders generate multiple options, evaluate tradeoffs, and then commit to a solution.</li><li><strong>Why founders get trapped</strong> — Climate entrepreneurs are often rewarded for speed and action. That can create a tendency to lock onto the first plausible explanation or solution.</li><li><strong>Applications across climate tech</strong> — Hiring decisions, fundraising strategy, product-market fit, customer segmentation, project development, and market entry all benefit from spending more time in discovery.</li><li><strong>A practical question for CEOs</strong> — &quot;Are we debating solutions before we&#39;ve agreed on the actual problem?&quot;</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The core lesson: many costly mistakes occur because teams converge too quickly. The Double Diamond creates deliberate divergence before convergence, helping leaders avoid solving symptoms while missing root causes.</p><p><br></p><p>👉Get the written summary:</p><p>https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/p/why-smart-climate-founders-still</p><p><br></p><p>--</p><p><br></p><p><strong>1️⃣ Join our confidential CEO community.</strong></p><ul><li>Private CEO group for VC/PE-backed climate tech founders navigating capital, strategy, and scale. Capped at 45 CEOs. </li><li>→ entrepreneursforimpact.com</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>2️⃣ Join 40,000 professionals who get our newsletter.</strong></p><ul><li>Climate tech finance, strategy, leadership. <strong>2-min read. </strong></li><li>→ entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>3️⃣ Leave a podcast review.</strong></p><ul><li>If you got value, take 30 seconds and <strong>do the community a favor</strong>. It helps push more capital and talent toward scalable climate solutions.</li></ul><p><br></p>