The illusion of success: When a business looks perfect but is quietly breaking
I’ve had a couple of instances in the last year or so in businesses where I have been brought in by members of the SLT/ Board, telling me that the business desperately needs my help.
They are telling me that clients are getting poor service and leaving, the team is not engaged, the good staff aren’t staying and internal operations aren’t working well.
But then, the founder rolls up in a brand-new Range Rover. There’s a holiday home in Marbella. The balance sheet is solid. The office is immaculate. The company boasts decades of heritage and a glowing reputation in the industry.
To the outside world and often to the owner themselves, this is the picture of success. To them, on paper, everything looks pristine and is working just fine. “Nothing is broken and I don’t need any help.” they said.
But the SLT are telling me otherwise, because other indicators of business performance aren’t so pristine.
So why might they need a Business Mentor?
Because underneath the polished veneer, there are whispers of discontent.
The team is disengaged and loyalty is stretched. Turnover is often climbing but new clients that have been sold the dream are masking the existing ones that are leaving.
There’s no innovation, no spark, no challenge to the status quo – the very ingredients that delivered success in the first place. And when I’m invited in, I can feel it immediately. Not broken, but certainly not thriving.
The illusion of success is the business equivalent of a slow leak in a luxury yacht. The owner doesn’t notice because everything still floats. But drift too long without attention, and the cracks widen.
High growth and all the trappings of financial success can lull leaders into false security. When the money’s flowing and the status symbols are stacking up, it’s easy to confuse financial comfort with real business health. But growth without alignment, purpose, or culture? That’s not success, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Some of the most dangerous businesses I see are the ones that look, to the owners and the outside world, like they don’t need any help. They’ve stopped asking the hard questions. They’ve stopped being curious. They’ve stopped listening. There’s no need and to them, no incentive to change.
My job isn’t to fix what appears to be working. It’s to help identify the true underlying health challenges and unlock what’s possible, by fixing what isn’t working.
It’s to elevate the business beyond surface-level success into something that truly energises the team, delights the clients, and builds longer term success with no slow leaks.
The illusion of success: The two businesses in question that said they didn’t need my help?
One went pop with every one of the 100+ workforce being laid off and the owner having to close the family business after three generations.
The other is now a fraction of the size with the founder losing the holiday home, the flash cars and some pride.
They say that pride comes before a fall. It can if the house, the cars and the holidays suggest that the business isn’t broken.
So if your business feels comfortable and you have the rewards, don’t forget to monitor the true success indicators – client and team satisfaction, market penetration, innovation etc, beneath the surface.
Because sometimes the biggest risk, is thinking there isn’t one.
What are your indicators of success?
If you are looking for a sounding board to help you challenge the status quo or need help developing a plan to help navigate your next steps proactively, it’s time to chat.
