When a CEO Creates the Problem—And Doesn’t See It

A few years ago, I walked into an $80M company and saw something that stopped me in my tracks.

A giant screen on the wall of the customer service & shipping department, broadcasting every mistake in real time.

Their Names. Errors. Dollar amounts lost. It was public shaming disguised as accountability.

The CEO was proud of it. “This is the best thing I’ve ever done.”

His employees? They were breaking.

Behind closed doors, they were crying on my shoulder. They dreaded coming to work. They lived in fear of their name showing up on that screen.

The worst part? He knew it hurt.

This wasn’t tough leadership. It was dysfunctional, distrustful, and cruel. He thought he was building a high-performance culture. Instead, he was creating fear, paralysis, and resentment. What Happened Next Was Telling

I pulled him aside.?“Try something different. Just for a week.”?He wasn’t convinced, but he agreed.

By lunch, the mistakes were gone. In their place? A random Tony Robbins quote.

Then, over the next few days, something strange happened. The mistakes would disolve back and forth—appearing, disappearing, reappearing.

At first, it was 80% mistakes, 20% cheesy motivational quotes.

Then 50/50.

Then, over time, the errors vanished completely, replaced by fun, positive messages, thins like team celebrations and pictures from company events.

Two months later, I returned to the company.

The same employees who had cried on my shoulder before? Now they were hugging me and crying tears of relief.

“I don’t know what you did, but this place has changed. Thank you.”

"I'm not sure what you told him, but he has changed! I love my job again.

The CEO didn’t lose visibility into mistakes. But he gained something far more valuable—a team that wanted to win instead of just trying to avoid failure. He also needed someone to call him out. Those closest to him were terrified of him! As for me, I'd already been paid!

That’s why outside eyes matter.

I was paid a lot for that advice. And here’s why:

Your team isn’t underperforming because they’re lazy.

They’re underperforming because?somethingis off—and you might be too close to see what it is.

Your Challenge This Week

Take a minute and ask yourself:

What would your team say to me behind closed doors?

Would they tell me you're crazy and this place is dysfunctional?!?

I once had an entire sales team tell me they weren’t event trying to sell more—they were just holding out for retirement. The CEO had no idea why sales weren't increasing!

You might be confident in your culture. But would your team tell me the same thing?

If you’re not 100% sure, it’s worth finding out. Because disengagement doesn’t just kill morale—it kills your bottom line.

If you don’t like the answer, change it. If you don’t know the answer, I can help.

Cheers! Noah

P.S. If your team isn’t delivering at the level they should be, let’s talk. I’ll show you exactly where you’re leaving money on the table.