Costa: The 'clock on the wall' strategy diffuses management ego conflicts
James Paul Costa · Building Scalable Venture Strategies with James Paul Costa of Grapetree Ventures | The Innovators & Investors Podcast · Apr 7, 2026 · at 26:45
James Paul Costa of Grapetree Ventures shares leadership and psychological de-escalation tactics learned from parenting and his father.
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“That's where the clock on the wall Strategy works because it's like, oh, it's two o'clock. Well, you know what happens at two o'clock. Now, both people are looking in the same direction, literally body language, and we're both looking at that clock, and what a shuck, because I can't change the clock, but at two o'clock, we have to go do this, so I would learn little things like that to get people off their personal ego trip to remove it from us, because we're on the same team now”
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