Every turnaround below started the same way: an executive looked honestly at a team that wasn't working and chose to do something about it. That choice is the hero of each story. Our job was to stand beside them and help the disciplines hold. The flagship case below is named and attributed; the others are anonymized at the clients’ request.
The courageous call
A holding company of seven separate construction firms was sliding toward insolvency — not for lack of talent, but because the structure rewarded competition over collaboration. Two of the seven company presidents were, on paper, each other's largest competitor. The COO saw the real ceiling and made the hard decision: unify the group under one set of books, one brand, one team. Then he brought James in — on a pay-for-performance blend, a small monthly fee plus bonuses tied to the numbers, so everyone had a stake in the outcome.
The work was the human side. James supported the people executing the merger of seven accounting systems — helping them do it faster and better, streamlining communication, resolving the conflicts that erupt when rivals are asked to become teammates, and making sure the team paused to celebrate the wins.
Within two years
$1.2B
revenue, up from $350M
7 → 1
sets of books, fully streamlined; one rebranded company
0
layoffs — non-performing sites closed, every willing employee relocated
“The seven companies were led by exceptionally smart, capable people… In the beginning, they hated James. He challenged how they communicated, how they made decisions, and how they saw one another. He did not try to outsmart them or impose some academic management theory. He earned their respect by understanding the work, confronting the real conflicts, and helping them produce results… James helped us turn seven groups of rivals into one leadership team. By the time US Holdings became Eagle Manufacturing Group and I moved from COO to CEO, we were no longer seven companies protecting our own territory. We were one company working toward the same outcome.”
The courageous call
The owner knew he had the right people. What he didn't have was a team. Sales blamed admin, admin blamed manufacturing, manufacturing blamed shipping — a vicious circle while the company watched every penny and inched toward insolvency. Rather than replace people, he made the harder choice: bring them together. With almost no operating cash, he and James worked on a pay-for-performance blend so the risk was shared.
The result came fast — profitability and growth inside a year. Then a telling proof point: during a year when the engagement paused, the company stalled. When the disciplines came back, so did the growth.
The trajectory
$3.5M → $10M
revenue within the first year — and more profitable
$15M
reached after the disciplines were re-established
Stalled when the work stopped. Grew when it resumed.
More teams that chose to change
Trust between the executive team and 23 regional directors had broken down amid miscommunication and perceived divides. We designed a three-day conference, in a period of real crisis, to re-establish trust and a way to work through the hard things together — with ongoing coaching for the COO since.
Over six months of retreats and individual coaching with an executive team of five, it became clear — to everyone — that one leader wasn't a fit for the group. The CEO handled it with grace: an amicable parting, and a new hire chosen for fit, brought in with our help.
Five executives — one in each time zone, each from a previously competing branch — now jointly ran a $1B budget with no trust and poor communication. We ran retreats in every time zone to build trust, defuse long-standing beliefs, and forge one leadership team. The agency then awarded us the same work for the next two layers of the organization.
Yours can too. A Calibration Call is 15 minutes — and you'll leave with a concrete read on your team whether or not we work together.
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