Most business owners don’t ignore problems.
In fact, it’s usually the opposite. When something isn’t working properly, they lean in. They stay closer. They work harder. They take more on themselves until they’re sure it’s fixed.
That instinct is understandable — and early on, it often works.
The problem is what happens when the business reaches a point where effort is no longer the issue.
At that stage, trying to fix things from inside the business becomes incredibly difficult. Not because you’re not capable, but because you’re too close to it.
You’re inside the decisions.
Inside the relationships.
Inside the history of why things are the way they are.
So when pressure builds, the default response is to dig deeper.
Longer hours.
More involvement.
More “I’ll just sort this bit myself”.
The hope is that if you push hard enough, eventually things will settle down, and the business will start to feel lighter.
But for many owners, that moment never comes.
Instead, what quietly happens is this: the business becomes increasingly dependent on them to function properly. Not in obvious ways — but in subtle ones.
They become the point where decisions land.
The person who holds the context.
The one who spots the risks before anyone else does.
From the outside, the business looks fine. From the inside, it feels like constant resistance.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
You can’t push your way out of a design problem.
If the way the business is set up relies on you holding it together, then working harder just reinforces that dependence. Every time you step in to “fix it”, you teach the business that it needs you there.
Over time, that turns into a pattern.
Owners tell themselves:
“Once we get through this busy period…”
“Once we hire one more person…”
“Once I’ve sorted this area…”
And suddenly years pass.
The business keeps moving — but the load never really lifts.
This is why so many owners end up fighting the business right up until retirement. Not because they failed to fix it, but because they tried to fix it from inside the system that created the pressure in the first place.
The shift that changes things isn’t more resilience or motivation.
It’s perspective.
Stepping back far enough to see where responsibility, decisions, and ownership have quietly drifted onto your shoulders — and redesigning the business so those things don’t rely on you by default.
That’s not easy to do when you’re in the middle of it. It takes space. It takes honesty. And often it takes someone outside the business who isn’t emotionally invested in keeping things “just about working”.
But when that redesign happens, something important changes.
The business doesn’t slow down.
It just stops fighting you.
And that’s often the difference between a business that consumes its owner… and one that finally starts to support them.
If this feels like you let’s talk.
By Andy Walter
Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube
or Get in touch.
Find out if you are the bottleneck
#Thinkdifferently #Growth #Awareness #Connection #Purpose #Meaning #Selflessness #Development #Mindset #Passion #Improvement #Action #Success #Coaching
0 Comments