"This doesn't feel right"

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Eight days before flying to Florida to film her brand new podcast, Jess Cook killed the entire thing.

Jess had just joined Vector as their Head of Marketing.

She was supposed to meet her new CEO in person to record the launch episodes. It was the first "big swing" as a newly minted executive. Expensive flights and studio time were booked and paid for.

But something wasn't right.

Jess told me: "Every time we sat down to do it, I could tell there was something in my brain, in my heart, I just wasn't excited about it. And that bothered me."

Red flag #1.

She tried to make it work, but: "Every time we went to outline, it felt like we kept coming back to the product every time, even if it wasn't on purpose or overt, it still felt like we kept reverting back to the things that Vector could do."

Red flag #2.

That's when she knew. Her concept was a dud. Too flat, too product-y.

So she made the tough call to start over.

Months of planning, finished scripts, and a CEO-approved concept all sent down the drain.

Most marketers would push through. Ship the "fine" content. Pretend it's not doomed and keep the channel alive for 9 months until dwindling engagement deems it a failure and it's killed off entirely.

Not Jess.

She gave herself 24 hours to come up with something completely different or cancel the whole thing.

She texted trusted friends: "If you could listen to a podcast with a CEO and a head of marketing, what would you want them to talk about?"

They wanted to hear they're dynamic, the things they disagree on, and how you get buy-in from him.

Jess: "That kind of just sounds like our one-on-ones."

So she decided to do the "build-in-public thing to the extreme and let people in on our one-on-ones."

The result? This Meeting Could Have Been a Podcast — raw strategy discussions, real disagreements, authentic behind-the-scenes content that no one else is doing.

Here's what most of us miss: The courage to kill 'fine' content is what separates legendary creators from the rest.

We get so attached to our plans, our timelines, our "good enough" ideas that we ship mediocre content rather than admit something isn't working.

But Jess understood something crucial: If you're not excited about your own content, your audience will be bored to death.

Because the truth is, "good enough" doesn't build legendary brands. Playing it safe doesn't create breakthrough moments.

Sometimes you have to blow up the plan and start over.

This is just one of the stories Jess shared in the newest episode of Reed Between the Lines.

She also shared

How to steal the best tactics from B2C (and why B2B marketers are missing out on the good stuff)
Her transition from head of content to head of marketing — and why most people get it backwards
The exact framework for getting executives excited about bold ideas (even when they hate risk)

Watch on YouTube for the full experience (the production value is worth it).