In The 4 Disciplines of Execution, Chris McChesney and his co-authors talk about the importance of playing a winnable game — setting clear, focused goals that galvanise real progress. The idea is simple: if the target’s blurry or the rules keep shifting, how can anyone build momentum?

That’s where the drinks industry finds itself today. Because for many emerging brands, the game isn’t just tough — it’s becoming unwinnable. And the reason isn’t taste, story or innovation. It’s fees. Listing fees.

Let’s be clear: we get it. Retailers and distributors carry risk. Shelf space is limited. Onboarding a new brand takes effort. A fee makes sense — up to a point.

But what happens when that point becomes the paywall? When access hinges less on merit and more on marketing budget? When the most exciting new bottles can’t even get a foot in the door because they’re priced out before they’ve poured a single drink?

At some stage, the system stops selecting for excellence and starts filtering for affluence.

A Gallery Where Wall Space Goes to the Highest Bidder

Picture a gallery where you don’t earn your spot — you buy it. The art on the walls isn’t curated for craft, perspective or cultural value. It’s placed there because the artist could afford the wall space.

That’s the energy creeping into too much of our industry.

No one's saying distributors should work for free or that every fledgling brand deserves a free ride. But when access costs tens of thousands, it’s not about supporting the trade — it’s about gatekeeping it.

And that’s not business sense. That’s cultural loss.

Exclusive by Strategy vs Exclusive by System

Let’s not confuse things. This isn’t a hit piece on going niche.

In “Narrow & Deep Conspiracy Theories”, we challenged brands that confine themselves to postcode prestige and never scale beyond it. That’s a self-imposed limit — a strategic trap.

This, however, is the opposite problem: a system-imposed ceiling. Not all brands go narrow by choice. Some are simply locked out. Their strategy doesn’t lack vision — it lacks capital. And that’s not a creative problem. It’s a structural one.

There’s a big difference between choosing to build small — and being kept small.

When Execution Becomes Exclusion

The first discipline of execution is clarity of purpose: your Wildly Important Goal. In drinks, that might be shifting palates, pushing sustainability, building community — whatever lights the fire.

But when the bar to entry is a £15k invoice and some backroom horsetrading, we’re not executing. We’re excluding.

And the goal morphs from quality to quantity. From meaning to money. From impact to visibility.

You can spend your way onto a list — but it doesn’t mean you belong there.

Are We Measuring the Wrong Things?

According to the third discipline, you need a visible scoreboard. Something that shows whether you’re really winning.

But what are we tracking?

If the scoreboard just shows number of listings, number of SKUs, number of doors — we’re playing the wrong game. Real wins are drinkers coming back, telling their mates, discovering a bottle that becomes part of their life.

A fat fee doesn’t guarantee any of that. In fact, it can squeeze out the brands that could.

Who’s Paying the Price?

Here’s the twist: it’s not just the brands who lose out.

When listing becomes a bidding war, drinkers lose too. They get less variety. Less risk. Less soul.

We end up with shelves stacked with who-can-afford-it, not what’s worth it. Same faces. Same formats. Same five safe bets, recycled endlessly.

And the drinkers we’re supposedly trying to win — the curious ones, the tastemakers, the people who genuinely give a damn — they see through it.

They want discovery, not distribution deals.

So, Where’s the Line?

We’re not saying listing fees shouldn’t exist. We’re saying someone needs to call time when they go too far.

Yes, the supply chain needs to work. But if the system only works for those with deep pockets, we’ll choke off the future while we’re still clinging to the present.

The 4 Disciplines remind us: focus on what matters, act on leading indicators, keep score properly, and stay accountable. That accountability can’t stop at sales targets — it has to include what kind of industry we’re actually building.

Because if we keep letting money write the rules, we’ll end up with a drinks scene that’s technically functional — and creatively bankrupt.

So here’s the challenge: keep the fees fair. Let the best bottles rise. And let the game be one that’s actually worth winning.