From the edge of insolvency to booming — by fixing the human side.

A roughly $350M business in the construction industry — structured as a holding company of seven separate companies, all competing with one another. Two of the seven presidents were, quite literally, each other’s largest competitor. The COO wanted to fundamentally change the structure from competition into collaboration, under one set of books. The company was moving into insolvency.

Company A had the funds to pay for the work but couldn’t justify the expense to its board. So we worked on a pay-for-performance fee blend: a small monthly fee plus travel, with bonuses tied to helping the company hit its projected numbers. Still an outsider, but now one with a real stake in the outcome — which is exactly how I became a trusted resource for the team.

My role was on the human side. I supported the people executing the merger of seven accounting systems into one — helping them do it faster and better, streamlining communication, resolving conflicts, and helping them celebrate the wins. The technical project moved because the relationships underneath it finally did.

Within two years the company was just shy of $1B, fully rebranded, with non-performing sites shut down and every willing employee moved — no layoffs — and absolutely booming.

A $3.5M manufacturer in the wine industry. The owner knew he had the right people on board but simply couldn’t bring them together — sales versus admin versus manufacturing versus shipping, a vicious blame game in every direction. To become profitable, they had to come together. That’s where I came in.

Company B had very little operating cash flow and was watching every penny. Same answer as Company A: a pay-for-performance blend — a small monthly fee plus travel, with bonuses for hitting the numbers. With a stake in the outcome, I quickly became a trusted resource rather than just another consultant.

Again, the work was human, not technical: streamlining communication across the departments at war with each other, resolving the conflicts feeding the blame game, and helping a capable team finally pull in the same direction.

Within one year the company reached $10M and was more profitable. The engagement paused for a year and growth stalled at $10M. When we resumed, momentum returned — and they reached $15M within a year of restarting.