001. Out of Alignment: What My Pool Taught Me About Clarity

Any pool owner knows the battle of opening for the summer season.

Mine? Let’s just say, it’s not for the faint of heart.

Built in the early 1980s, my pool is a stubborn relic.  It’s a beast of ancient pumps and pipes that groans louder than the diving board. Every year, it takes hours of care, cleaning, and chemical tinkering to get it swim-ready. But last year? Nothing worked. Despite my best efforts, the water stayed a murky, lime green Jello.

Frustrated but determined, I scooped a bottle of the sludge and headed to the local pool store. When it was finally my turn, I placed the repurposed plastic bottle on the counter with a sigh of defeat.

“I’ve tried it all,” I told the clerk. “Shocked it, backwashed it, added algaecide, even changed the filter. The pump is running fine. There is no organic material. I’ve done everything.”

She didn’t flinch. Just nodded, peered into the murkiness, and disappeared into the back room to run the sample.

A few minutes later, she reemerged, a knowing smile creeping across her face.

“You’re out of alignment,” she said.

“Excuse me?” I asked, a little thrown by the unexpected diagnosis.

“Your chemicals,” she clarified. “They’re out of balance. The algaecide can’t do its job when your pH is off.”

“But it looked fine when I tested it,” I protested.

“Yeah, your kit is probably expired,” she said, gently pushing two large bottles and a new testing pack across the counter. Then, with deliberate care and a little curvy penmanship, she wrote down step-by-step instructions. “At night is best,” she added, sliding my Mickey Mouse debit card through the machine with a grin.

I followed her directions to the letter that night, and two days later, like magic, my pool was crystal clear.

“You’re out of alignment.”

That simple phrase kept echoing in my mind. The pool store clerk was onto something.  Alignment wasn’t just about strategy. It’s about clarity.

Just like pool water, your organization can’t thrive when it's out of alignment. When even one element is out of balance, it throws everything else off. You can pour in all the right solutions, work harder, even swap out the whole filter system, but if the pH is wrong, nothing else functions.

Alignment is the invisible bridge between ideas and outcomes. It’s what connects people, systems, and strategy to real results. It is the pH that transforms murky water into clarity and chaos into momentum.

So, whether you’re leading a team, running a nonprofit, or realigning your own life after a hard season, here’s your reminder:

Before you pour in more energy, ask yourself, “Is something out of alignment?”

Sometimes, the problem isn’t what you’re doing. It’s how it’s all working together.

SNEAK PEEK: Our next issue begins a practical three-part series on Aligning Your Mission, exploring what alignment means (and why it matters), how to recognize and reset when things fall out of sync, and practical ways to translate your mission into a clear, compelling narrative that inspires action.

Want help in finding your clarity? Let’s talk.

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