Jennifer Sikorski thought she’d landed her dream role—CEO of a fast-growing manufacturing company called Chicago Tech.
It didn’t feel like a dream for long.

Within weeks, the situation deteriorated: engineering missed launches, operations fell behind schedule, sales blamed marketing, marketing blamed operations, and finance was under fire for missing cash targets—again.

Every department was rowing hard.
None were rowing together.

Jennifer wasn’t burned out from workload.
She was burned out from lack of clarity.

Then she got the message from her boss:
“We’re bringing in a consultant to help.”
Her stomach sank. Another consultant. Another diagnosis. More meetings.

The Real Problem

When I meet companies like Chicago Tech, the symptoms are familiar:

• Endless firefighting

• Great people trapped in broken systems

• Conflicting priorities

• No shared definition of “winning”

• Meetings that consume time but create no progress

Chaos isn’t a people problem.
It’s a clarity problem.

Jennifer wasn’t failing.
She was leading inside a system that didn’t allow her to win.

The Turning Point

When I (Don Devine in the book) arrived, I didn’t start by prescribing solutions.
I started by listening.

I walked the floor.
I talked to employees.
I asked a simple question:
“What does success look like for your team?”

Nobody answered the same way twice.

So we rebuilt clarity and rhythm from the ground up:

1. Define the mission

2. Pick the 3 Big Rocks for the quarter

3. Install a weekly execution rhythm

4. Assign crystal-clear accountability

Within 90 days, the noise quieted.
Alignment replaced confusion.
Cash flow stabilized.
And Jennifer—once paralyzed—was leading again.

The Takeaway

You can’t scale confusion.
You can’t grow a business on hope.
But you can build freedom through structure.

If your days feel like firefighting, start here:

• Pick 3 priorities

• Meet weekly on just those 3

• Stop everything that doesn’t serve them

Clarity → focus.
Focus → progress.
Progress → freedom.

If you want the exact framework Jennifer used, stay tuned for the
5-Step Turnaround Checklist, releasing in early January.

About Don Vanpool

Don Vanpool is a seasoned business-transformation leader, private-equity operating partner, and certified coach. He helps manufacturing and mid-market companies align their teams, drive profitability, and prepare for high-value exits using proven systems like the Strategic Plan.