History is messy. We like to pretend it follows a clean line from "problem" to "solution," but that's rarely how reality functions on the ground. When Winston Churchill stood up at the Mansion House in London on November 10, 1942, he wasn't just giving a speech about a military victory in the desert. He was recalibrating the collective psyche of a planet. He famously uttered the words, "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
Most people get the context wrong. They think he was being pessimistic or overly cautious. In reality, he was managing expectations during a period of extreme volatility. The British Eighth Army had just defeated Rommel’s forces at the Second Battle of El Alamein. It was a massive win, sure. But the road to Berlin was still thousands of miles—and millions of lives—away.
Churchill knew the danger of "victory disease." He knew that once people see a glimmer of light, they tend to assume the tunnel is over. He had to pivot. He had to tell the world that the setup phase was finished, and the grueling, intermediate work was about to start.
The Battle of El Alamein: More Than Just Sand and Tanks
To understand why the end of the beginning matters, you have to look at what was happening in North Africa. It wasn't just a skirmish. General Bernard Montgomery’s victory was the first time the British had successfully routed a German-led force in a major land engagement. Before this, the Axis powers felt invincible. The "Desert Fox," Erwin Rommel, seemed like a supernatural tactician who couldn't be pinned down.
Then came October 1942.
The logistics were staggering. We're talking about roughly 190,000 Allied troops facing off against 116,000 Axis soldiers. Montgomery didn't just win by being smarter; he won through massive material superiority and a stubborn refusal to stop. When the dust settled, the tide had turned. But—and this is the part Churchill obsessed over—turning a tide isn't the same as winning the war.
It was a psychological hinge.
If you look at the letters from soldiers at the time, there’s this weird mix of euphoria and dread. They knew they’d won. They also knew they’d have to do it again in Sicily, then Italy, then France. Churchill’s phrasing gave them a framework to understand that exhaustion. It gave them permission to celebrate while keeping their boots laced tight.
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Why We Misunderstand the "Middle" of Projects
We have a weird obsession with starts and finishes. In business, in tech, in our personal lives, we love the "launch" and we love the "exit." But nobody likes the middle. The middle is where the novelty wears off and the real costs start to mount.
The end of the beginning is that specific moment when the initial excitement dies, the infrastructure is finally in place, and you realize the "real" work is just starting.
Think about a startup. You raise your Seed round. You build a prototype. You get your first ten customers. That feels like a win! Everyone pops champagne. But honestly? That’s just the end of the beginning. Now you have to scale. Now you have to deal with HR nightmares, server crashes, and the soul-crushing reality of a 24-month sales cycle.
If you treat the end of the beginning like the "beginning of the end," you’ll burn out. You’ll think you’re almost done when you’re actually only 20% through the journey.
The Nuance of Churchill’s Rhetoric
Churchill was a master of the "triple negative" style of encouragement. He didn't say, "We are winning." He said, "This is not the end." It’s a subtle distinction, but it’s everything.
- It acknowledges the pain that has already occurred.
- It validates the current success without inflating it.
- It sets a somber tone for the future.
Historian Richard Toye, who wrote Churchill's Empire, notes that Churchill was often at odds with his own generals about how to frame these moments. Some wanted a more triumphalist tone. Churchill disagreed. He was a student of history; he knew about the "phoney war" and the disasters of 1940. He wasn't going to let a single victory in Egypt cloud the fact that the Soviet Union was still bleeding out on the Eastern Front and the Pacific was a meat grinder.
Applying the "End of the Beginning" to Modern Tech
Look at Artificial Intelligence.
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In 2023, everyone was losing their minds over LLMs. It was the "beginning." We saw the magic. We saw the demos. Now, in 2026, we’ve reached the end of the beginning. The initial "wow" factor of a chatbot talking to us is gone. We’ve entered the phase where we have to figure out the massive energy costs, the copyright lawsuits, and the actual integration into legacy systems that don't want to change.
The setup is over. The messy, expensive, unglamorous middle has arrived.
If you’re a leader in any field, you have to recognize this phase. If you keep pushing "beginning" energy (high hype, low substance) when your team is clearly in the "middle" phase, you’ll lose them. They need the Churchillian honesty. They need to hear: "Yes, we survived the launch. No, we aren't done. This is the new baseline."
How to Navigate the Post-Beginning Slump
So, what do you actually do when you realize you've hit the end of the beginning? Most people freak out because the "growth" isn't as exponential as the "start."
- Audit your resources immediately. What got you through the start won't get you through the middle. You need different skills now.
- Stop looking at the finish line. It’s too far away. If you stare at the sun, you’ll go blind; if you stare at the 5-year goal during a mid-stage slog, you’ll quit. Focus on the next tactical "ridge."
- Change the internal narrative. Move from "Look what we did" to "Look what we’re now capable of attempting."
It’s about endurance.
Churchill’s speech wasn't just for the people in the room. It was a message to FDR in America and Stalin in Russia. It was a signal that Britain was a "going concern." It was a proof of concept.
The Danger of Thinking You’re at the End
The biggest mistake is misidentifying where you are on the map.
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In the medical world, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, this phrase was tossed around constantly. When the first vaccines were rolled out, experts warned this was only the end of the beginning. People didn't want to hear it. They wanted the "End." Because we ignored the nuance, the subsequent waves and the logistical nightmare of global distribution felt like a failure rather than a predictable next step.
When we mislabel the "end of the beginning" as the "beginning of the end," we stop being vigilant. We stop innovating. We stop preparing for the counter-attack.
Practical Steps for Long-Term Projects
If you’re currently in the middle of a massive life change, a business pivot, or a long-term goal, here is how you handle this specific phase:
- Celebrate the "Pivot Point": Acknowledge that you have successfully moved from "Theory" to "Practice." That is a massive achievement. Take the afternoon off.
- Recalibrate your KPIs: The metrics of the beginning (learning, speed, experimentation) are different from the metrics of the middle (efficiency, consistency, resilience).
- Watch for "The Dip": Seth Godin talks about this—the period where things get harder and less fun. The end of the beginning is the doorway to the Dip.
- Strengthen your alliances: Just as Churchill used the speech to solidify the Big Three, you need to lean on your support systems now. The "exciting" part is over; the "supportive" part is mandatory.
Final Insights
The end of the beginning is not a placeholder phrase. It is a strategic realization that the easy work of starting is over and the real test of character has begun. Whether it's 1942 in a smoke-filled room in London or 2026 in a home office, the principle remains the same. Success isn't a final destination; it’s a series of "ends" to various "beginnings."
Accept the weight of the middle. It’s where history—and real progress—is actually made.
Don't look for a shortcut out of this phase. There isn't one. The only way is through. Start by identifying one process in your current project that worked during the "startup" phase but is breaking now that you've scaled. Fix that one thing. Then find the next. That is how you survive the end of the beginning and actually make it to the end of the end.