Thank you for taking a few minutes with this.
Before we talk, I want to know what’s actually happening in your business — not the polished version, the real one.
There are no wrong answers. There’s no pitch waiting on the other side. This is how I make sure our first conversation is actually useful to you.
Take your time. Answer honestly. That’s all I’m asking.
Here’s what I’ll ask you:
1. The One Thing — If you could fix one thing about how your business operates — not the market, not the economy, not a competitor — one internal thing that’s actually within your control, what would it be? Take your time with this one. The first answer that comes to mind is usually the right one.
2. What Happened Last Time — Think of the last time you tried to implement a significant change, new process, or strategic initiative in your business. It doesn’t have to be recent. What happened between when everyone agreed on it and where things actually landed 60 to 90 days later?
3. What Success Actually Looks Like — If we worked together and it was genuinely successful, what would be different about your business — and your day-to-day life — 12 months from now? Be as specific as you can. Not what sounds good. What would actually feel different.
4. Where Things Break Down — When your team walks out of a planning or strategy meeting, do they leave with the same understanding of what was decided, who owns what, and what happens next? What typically breaks down first?
5. An Honest Question — If an honest assessment of your business pointed to a leadership behavior, a cultural pattern, or a structural problem that starts at the top — how open are you to hearing that directly? And what would it take for you to act on it? This isn’t a gotcha. It’s how I figure out whether I can actually be useful to you.
On a scale of 1 to 10 — how much of the challenge you described is a systems and process problem versus a leadership or decision-making problem? (1 = entirely systems, 10 = entirely leadership)
6. How You See the Problem — Walk me through your thinking on that number.
One Last Thing — Is there anything else happening in your business right now, something I wouldn’t know to ask about, that feels relevant to why you reached out?
Rather than have to scroll back up here the tooltip next to the question title is a popup that shows you the question again right there.