Resources to run a better business.

How do you do it? That’s the question I get often from clients and partners. They aren’t asking about how I run two companies, how we landed on the Inc. 5000 list, or even how we help clients grow by increasing their revenue, profit, and valuation. They’re asking about slide decks.

A CEO has ultimate accountability for their business. But they are still just one person, and they can’t manage the stress of the entire company alone. That’s really the point of building the best possible team around you, to help you solve problems and share the load.

Gratitude is a cornerstone of my life. It allows me to wake up every day and feel fulfilled, no matter how packed the calendar is or how many fires I have to put out. But today, I want to talk about something that gratitude can mask: Not setting the bar high enough.

Watch as we unpack the key drivers of enterprise value and show you how to strengthen them across your entire organization.

A while back, I got an interesting email from David Hauser. If you aren’t familiar with David, he’s a serial entrepreneur, best known for building and then selling tech company Grasshopper for approximately $170 million. The topic of the email stuck with me: We vs You.

“I’m running late.” Me, on the way to a wedding in York Harbor. A former employee is getting married, and I’m backed up in traffic. "Don’t worry, we’ll save you a seat.” My business partner, Chris Sullivan, who is steadfast in all things and perpetually has my back. “Do we know anybody there?” Chris laughs. “You’ll know people,” he says. “See you soon.”

A challenge for you, if you’re up for it. Think about a problem you’re currently facing in your business. Not enough leads, gross margins out of whack, quality issues in delivery….whatever it is. Ask yourself, “Do I already know what I need to do to fix it?” Most of the time, the answer is probably yes.

Right now, many of my clients are in a prolonged problem-solving mode. They’re dealing with economic uncertainty. They’re grappling with questions around AI. They’re trying to build tangible plans in a moment when it feels like there’s very little to hold onto. Important activities? Yes. But they can wear you down. After a while, you start to only see the limitations, the challenges, the blockers to progress.

You’ve probably gotten the message by now that it’s annual planning season. But if you’re getting caught up on all the things you could be doing in the business and not sure which things you should be doing, here’s a tip: Focus on your business model.