Your Profit Problems Are Leadership Problems

I once sat down with a furious business owner. “My team’s useless,” he said. “They never deliver.” I asked him two simple questions: “Who hired them? Who sets their goals?”

He went quiet. He admitted he hadn’t run a proper meeting in months, and his priorities changed weekly. His team wasn’t failing; they were confused.

Once he got clear and consistent, everything shifted. Execution improved, morale spiked, and profit followed. The problem wasn’t his team; it was his leadership.

Download The Profit Gap for free at TheProfitBootCamp.com to see 5 hidden reasons family businesses work hard but still fall short of profit.

It starts with you

When the same issues keep popping up: missed deadlines, low margins, and sloppy execution, it’s easy to blame your team or the market. But nine times out of ten, those problems point to your systems, not your people. If your business feels stuck in a loop, you haven’t built the structure to break free. Leadership isn’t about charisma or barking orders. It’s about clarity and follow-through.

Start by auditing yourself. Are your priorities clear to your team? Do you track progress, or just hope things get done?

I’ve seen owners delegate tasks and then forget about them, leaving their teams guessing. That’s not leadership. That’s abdication. One client delegated a pricing review but never checked in. Six months later, nothing had changed, and they’d lost $50,000 in potential profit. Set clear goals, assign owners, and follow up. It’s not sexy, but it works.

Fix your meetings, fix your profit

Here’s a game-changer: fix your meetings. Most business meetings are a mess, with endless venting or no focus. Better meetings lead to better profit. Try this: run one weekly meeting with a tight agenda. Pick one metric, like cash flow, gross margin, or overdue invoices, and identify three actions to move them.

One client’s meetings were just complaint sessions. We set a new rule: every meeting ends with three clear next steps. Four weeks later, the execution was sharper, and he told me, “We didn’t need more staff, just a real plan.” Focused action works.

Build momentum with better habits

You don’t need a new team, just better habits. Your people are probably capable, but they need direction. A weekly rhythm, like Monday priorities, Wednesday short check-ins, and Friday results, builds momentum fast. It’s not about working harder; it’s about working smarter. And start writing down what works. That’s your playbook for scaling.

One owner I know documented his best sales process. It took an hour, but it cut training time for new hires and boosted close rates by 10%. That’s leadership in action.

You’re leading with clarity now, but what if cash is still tight? In our final episode, we’ll tackle how to turn things around when money’s low and pressure’s high. Don’t miss it.

Actions from prior episodes

• Cut one cost: Block 30 minutes, review P&L, and cut one expense. Just one. Lead by example.
• Find one drain: Review finances weekly, searching for one hidden loss. Act now.
• Align the family: Hold a monthly, one-hour family meeting. Ask: “What will drive next month’s profit?” Prioritize profit over family tension.

The next action

• Lead the team: Run focused weekly meetings with a clear agenda and one action item. Drive results.

Download The Profit Gap for free at TheProfitBootCamp.com to see 5 hidden reasons family businesses work hard but still fall short of profit.

 

Andrew’s books