The Bypass That’s Keeping Us From Building Better
"It's Just Business" Is a Lie
We all know the phrase: "It's just business."
It sounds rational. Neutral. Even protective. But more often than not, it's a shield. A way to excuse harm. A tool to bypass discomfort, avoid accountability, and stay cozy inside systems we claim to want to change.
"It’s just business" is the corporate version of spiritual bypassing—and it's one of the most insidious ways we uphold capitalism, extraction, and supremacy culture without realizing it.
In spiritual communities, bypassing often sounds like:
"Everything happens for a reason."
"Love and light."
"It’s all unfolding exactly as it should."
These phrases can offer comfort. But when used to sidestep real pain, minimize injustice, or avoid responsibility, they do harm. As psychologist John Welwood put it, spiritual bypassing is when we use spirituality to avoid facing the hard stuff—unresolved emotional issues, social realities, systemic harm.
In business, bypassing sounds different, but the function is the same:
"This is just how it is."
"I’m doing what I have to do for the bottom line."
"It’s not personal."
We hear this when DEI initiatives get quietly rolled back. When layoffs are handled with cold detachment. When founders opt for exploitative pricing models, knowing they create harm, but rationalizing it as "just business."
And all of this happens against a backdrop that is anything but neutral:
Genocide in Palestine.
Escalating violence in the Congo, Sudan, and now between India and Pakistan.
Climate collapse.
Billionaires planning space vacations while millions don’t have clean water.
The decades long erosion of “democracy” as we descend into fascism and oligarchy.
It's tempting to say, "What difference does my little business make?"
But the truth is: Every empire is built on small choices. And so is every regenerative future.
We can't keep hiding behind strategy, brand language, or "best practices." We can't keep treating our org charts and policies like they don't reflect our values. Org charts are power structures. Policies are values in action.
We can't build businesses that heal if we’re still using the same tools that caused the harm.
"It’s just business" is a bypass. A lie. And a really convenient one.
Because if business isn’t just business—if it's a microcosm of every system we’ve inherited—then we have to face the reality that our everyday choices matter.
How we price. How we pay. How we set boundaries. How we hold power.
The work isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence.
It’s about asking:
Who benefits from this decision?
Who bears the cost?
What assumptions am I upholding?
It’s about refusing to dress capitalism in softer clothes and calling it equity.
And most of all, it’s about remembering that we are not separate from the system. We are shaping it.
"It’s just business" has never been true. Business is personal. Business is political. Business is a chance to practice the future we want.
We get to choose: Bypass, or build something better.
And that is the very premise I am exploring inside COO-fessions.
COO-fessions isn’t just a podcast. It’s a time capsule, a toolkit, a quiet rebellion in audio form—a series of conversations that are unpolished, unapologetic, and pointed straight at the systems we’re all tired of pretending are working.
It’s not about fixing what's broken.
It’s about building what’s next.
Nine episodes. One arc. A thousand sparks to rethink the way we lead, build, and belong.
Here’s the journey you can join me on:
This Is Bigger Than Business with Brittany Martin
We begin at the breaking point. Naming collapse, resisting urgency, and choosing to build something better—one bite at a time.The Magic of Messy, Imperfect Leadership with Rae McDaniel
What if leadership wasn’t about control, but becoming? Rae invites us to drop the performance and lead from presence, not perfection.Beyond Burnout: Why Capitalism Fears Your Zone of Genius with Amina AlTai
Through the lens of chronic illness and ambition, Amina shows us how honoring your body is not just personal—it’s political.Business as a Portal: Reimagining Equity, Leadership, and Regenerative Growth with Trudi Lebron
What comes after business-as-usual? Trudi offers a map for building futures rooted in equity, care, and collective power.You Can Build Anything. So Why Are You Repeating the Past? with Barrett Brooks
We interrogate the visionary/integrator myth and ask what truly aligned leadership looks like when you stop defaulting to legacy models.Hustle Won’t Save You: Redefining Success from the Nervous System Out with Tamu Thomas
Tamu reminds us that productivity without presence is just performance—and that rest, regulation, and resonance are forms of resistance.The Hidden Extraction: Emotional Manipulation Inside Mission-Driven Companies with Bob Gower
Even good intentions can replicate harmful systems. Bob helps us recognize when our values-driven workplaces are quietly extracting from us.We’re Building In Real Time. Stop Waiting for Clarity with Sarah Paikai
This is operational leadership as artistry. Sarah shows us how to move without perfect plans, and build structures that can hold complexity.Practicing the Future, Now with Brittany Martin
A closing reflection. A breath. A challenge to keep going—not because the work is done, but because the future is shaped by what we practice now.
COO-fessions is a refusal to bypass.
A commitment to build something better—with whoever’s ready to do it with me.
There’s no catch.
Just nine episodes of deep, honest conversations with leaders who are reimagining work, power, ambition, and alignment.
I hope you’ll listen.
Not because I want you to buy something after (though yes, I do provide services for those who feel called).
But because I want you to feel seen.
Because I want us to build businesses that feel like integrity—in practice, not just in theory.
We are not outside the systems we want to change.
We are inside them.
We are shaping them.
We are becoming something else entirely.
And this? This is the breath before the beginning.
Click here to get immediate access to the full COO-fessions series.
To building better,
Brittany
