Quick Gut Check:
If you looked at last week’s calendar, would you hire or fire yourself as the CEO?
And be honest: how much of that time was spent on revenue-generating activities?
(If your company is under $5M in revenue, 85% of your time should be here.)
What Most Entrepreneurs Do Instead
When revenue stalls, most CEOs start tweaking the surface:
- Throwing more money at marketing (without knowing their ideal client avatar).
- Adding another meeting (just because someone asked, without knowing why they’re there).
- Chasing the next tool, tactic, or shiny object (sending their staff in ten different directions).
The brutal truth is:
When there’s a revenue problem, it’s rarely the market.
It’s rarely the system.
Most of the time, it’s the self.
Harvard Business Review found that 72% of high-growth companies audit three things:
- Where the CEO’s time really goes
- How fast key decisions are made
- How clear the message is across the team
The companies that do this don’t just scale—they sustain.
Because revenue isn’t the root. Leadership rhythm is.
Why Most Leaders Miss This
When things slow down, most leaders get busier, not better.
Instead of pausing to reflect, they pile on.
Neuroscience explains why: under stress, your brain shifts into survival mode. You move from strategy to reactivity. You can’t see the whole field because your nervous system is scanning for threats, not opportunities.
That’s exactly where I found myself years ago. My staffing company was $600,000 in debt.
On the outside, I looked like a CEO in control. Inside, I was terrified.
I worked harder. Added services. Hustled for any sales I could get. White-knuckled every day.
The turning point wasn’t another tactic. It was an audit. I had to look in the mirror and ask:
- Where is my time really going? My coach challenged me to spend 85% of my time on revenue—not to-do lists.
- Where am I slowing down decisions? I had to stop abdicating and learn the 4 types of delegation.(insert call back to previous newsletter)
- Am I muddying the message? My company was Diversified Industrial Staffing, specializing in skilled trades… so why were we taking job orders for accounting personnel?
That simple self-audit didn’t just save the company. It put us on the Inc. 5000 list six times.
Alex’s Story: From Firefighter to Visionary
Alex, a CEO I coach, hit the same wall. When revenue plateaued, he doubled down—new services, new markets, more debt.
Instead of growing, the team pulled away. Metrics flattened. Overwhelm set in.
In one session, he said the quiet fear out loud:
“What if this just doesn’t scale?”
We hit pause and audited three things:
- Calendar: 90% reactive. Almost no white space.
- Decision flow: Leaders bottlenecked, waiting on him.
- Messaging: Team couldn’t clearly repeat the vision.
We stripped away the noise. Cut extra services. Doubled down on the core. Empowered his leaders with the 4 Types of Delegation roadmap. Built strategic white space into his week.
Four months later, revenue climbed—not because he did more, but because he finally stepped into the role of visionary instead of firefighter.
Where You Can Start Today
This isn’t about adding more. It’s about tuning in.
Spend 15 minutes today mapping last week’s calendar into three buckets:
- Strategy
- Operations
- Reactive
If less than 15% was strategy, you don’t have a business problem—you have a leadership rhythm problem.
Then ask yourself:
- How fast are key decisions being made? If your leaders are waiting on you, the business is waiting on you.
- Can my team clearly repeat the vision? If not, you don’t have clarity. You have dependence.
The Truth You Might Need to Hear
When revenue stalls, the first place to look isn’t your CRM, your funnel, or your team.
It’s your mirror.
And that’s not shame—it’s ownership. Leadership maturity starts when you can self-audit without flinching.
Because scale doesn’t start with the market. It starts with how you lead.
If you’re ready to recalibrate your leadership rhythm, I’d love to help you find that focus. Let’s talk.
