I’ve had my CI business, Livewire, for the last 23 years, and I’ve worked really hard to work myself out of a job. In the early days, I wore 500 hats. Over time, you slowly take them off and hand them to other people. At first, it’s the things you’re not good at or don’t want to do. Later, it’s the things you are good at, but probably shouldn’t be doing for the sake of growth. And eventually, it’s the things you’ve mastered but now need to step away from so someone else can grow and lead.
Despite all that, organizational dysfunction still finds ways to creep in. What do I mean by organizational dysfunction? It’s the subtle stuff. Like when an employee calls you directly, even though you’re not their manager, because they know you’re the owner. In that moment, you have a choice; be the hero and take action, or defer to their actual boss. That small moment of friction can often determine whether you’re reinforcing a healthy culture or quietly undercutting it.
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I remember when I first promoted our COO. A few employees didn’t want to report to her. They kept calling me directly. Each time, I’d conference her in, just to send the clear message. In the words of my friend and mentor Todd Sterling: “We wanted all the liars in the room.” It was awkward, but necessary.
This week brought two reminders of how important it is to constantly weed the garden of dysfunction:
- The Referral: I handed off a customer relationship opportunity to a salesperson a few months ago. I followed up recently, only to discover they never reached out. Instead of confronting them directly, I brought it to our COO. Not because I was afraid of conflict, but because it’s her job to hold her people accountable. It might have been easier to go straight to the rep, but that’s how silos and confusion start. I chose the harder path to reinforce structure and empower a leader.
- The Competitor Overlap: Earlier this week, I got a call from a competitor. Turns out, we’d both done work for the same customer, and our team ended up integrating their standalone motorized shades. I looped in our sales rep immediately, but I also shared screenshots of that conversation with our COO to make sure she had full context. It wasn’t about throwing anyone under the bus, it was about clarity and alignment.
These might sound like small things, but they add up. I’ve probably had hundreds of moments like this over the past four years. The companies that drift into dysfunction aren’t undone by massive failures — they’re eroded by the quiet moments where nobody says anything, nobody asks questions, and everyone assumes someone else has it handled.
At the end of the day, the real competition isn’t the company across town. It’s ourselves. It’s what we tolerate, what we ignore, and what we choose not to address. That’s why I believe the healthiest organizations are the ones where leaders make the tough calls in small moments over and over again.
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Be proactive. Hold people accountable. Respect the chain of command.
That’s how you avoid dysfunction and build something that lasts.
What are you doing to stamp out organizational dysfunction in your company?
Stay frosty, and see you in the field.
