I was in line at an airport coffee shop, watching the minutes tick by. The line was long, and the wait seemed to stretch endlessly. Curious about the delay, I looked up at the counter. Two baristas were working at full tilt – heads down, moving at a mile a minute, no wasted motions – but they were visibly overwhelmed. Twenty minutes passed, the line behind me grew, and the chaos continued.

What must these baristas be feeling? Pressure? Defeat? Maybe even anger?

A better question: What should these baristas do?

The Overload Problem: A Familiar Feeling

A mid-level manager at a construction firm recently told me, “There is so much going on at such a rapid pace that I don’t even know what to do next.” This man is a high achiever, yet he describes himself as “failing” because each day leaves him further behind than when he started.

“It’s bad. We’re beyond the breaking point. I don’t know what to do.”

Sound familiar? Do you feel like no matter how hard you work, you can’t get ahead? That there’s simply too much, and it just keeps coming?

So, what do you do?

Step 1: Call for Backup

The first thing the baristas – and our overwhelmed manager – must do is ask for help. Let people know you’re drowning. It’s your responsibility to raise the flag and bring awareness to the situation. Better yet, suggest potential solutions.

But what if you ask for help and no one listens?

Step 2: Let It Fail to Equilibrium

How much work is too much work? How much speed is too much speed? How many clients are too many clients? The answer: It’s an unknown number that has to be found. And how do you find it?

Through failure and experience.

Economist Adam Smith called it “the invisible hand” that guides markets to equilibrium – where supply meets demand. In business and in life, equilibrium isn’t a number someone hands you; it’s a reality you discover when things break down.

So, what does that mean in practical terms?

If the baristas call for help and no one comes, they have to let the coffee shop fail to equilibrium. That doesn’t mean they stop working; it means they do what they can reasonably without self-destructing. The same goes for our mid-level manager. He only has so many hours in a day. If he’s working efficiently and asking for support but isn’t getting it, he must accept that the system – not him – is failing.

Step 3: Control Your Response

I once witnessed another busy coffee shop in a similar state of chaos. But this time, the barista behind the counter smiled. She was calm, pleasant, and unshaken, even as she worked as efficiently as possible.

The difference? She had come to terms with letting the shop fail to equilibrium. She wasn’t letting her circumstances dictate her demeanor. She recognized the situation was unreasonable and overwhelming – but she refused to let it consume her.

This is a powerful mindset shift.

Step 4: Make the System Feel the Pain

If the baristas and the manager never call for help, they will suffer in silence. But if they cut corners, push themselves beyond reason, and somehow still manage to deliver results, then leadership may never feel the pain necessary to change the system.

However, if enough customers complain about the wait, or if projects start slipping in quality because the manager is stretched too thin, then the organization may be forced to adjust. This is how equilibrium is found – not by burning yourself out, but by allowing the system to correct itself.

The Hard-Learned Lesson

I’ve had to learn this lesson multiple times. Early in my career in broadcast journalism, I tried to take on too much. More recently, while growing my consulting business, I overloaded myself with clients but didn’t have enough staff. The result? I crashed, felt the pain, and finally learned where my equilibrium was.

The key takeaway? When you’ve done all you can, and help isn’t coming, stop fighting a losing battle. Work hard, yes – but don’t break yourself for a system that refuses to adjust. Sometimes, you have to let things fail to equilibrium so the right changes can happen.

It’s not quitting. It’s wisdom.