Employee happiness is the most important metric in your business

Executive overview

Most founders optimise for revenue, customer satisfaction, or profit. But chasing those metrics burns out your team. Happy, engaged employees take care of customers, work harder, and scale the business — the inverse is not true.

The core insight: employee net promoter score (eNPS) is the single most important metric in any company — measure it twice a year and act on what employees tell you.

This coaching call with a dual-company law firm owner covers how to escape the doing-the-work trap, build the next layer of leadership, and focus your time on the highest-leverage activities.

The employee net promoter score (eNPS)

• Ask one question twice a year: "On a scale of 1–10, how enthusiastically would you recommend this as a place to work?"
• Promoters = 9s and 10s; detractors = 1–6. Score = % promoters minus % detractors.
• Over 50% is world class; 85%+ qualifies as a best company to work for.
• Second question in January: "What's one thing we can do to make this a better company to work for?"
• Second question in July: "What's one thing that doesn't cost money that would make this the best place to work?"
• Act on what employees say — they tell you exactly what will make them more engaged.
• Priority order: eNPS → customer NPS → profit (as a dollar figure) → revenue.

Getting out of the weeds: the activity inventory

• List every task you do across a month in a spreadsheet.
• Categorise each: Incompetent (I), Competent (C), Excellent (E), Unique Ability (U).
• Add an hourly rate column — what would you pay someone else to do that task?
• Calculate your effective hourly rate (total earnings ÷ hours worked); delegate anything below 20–25% of that rate.
• Dan Martell's rule: divide your hourly rate by 4 — anything below that threshold must go.
• Stop doing tasks that drain energy even if you're excellent at them; keep only what fires you up or commands your full rate.
• Offshore roles (Philippines, Colombia, Eastern Europe) can cover surprisingly senior tasks at a fraction of local cost.

Building the next layer of leaders

• Use a 2×2 matrix: y-axis = results for money paid (1–10), x-axis = core values and culture fit (1–10).
• Bottom-left (both under 5): remove immediately, regardless of tenure.
• Top-right (both 8+): "God forbid they ever quit" people — invest heavily in these.
• Give your grain to your best horses: A-players get your time, coaching, and development budget.
• Train by shadowing: have emerging leaders observe meetings and calls before gradually taking over.
• The Trish/Elaine model — blind CC, silent observer, occasional questions, then running the meeting solo — requires no dedicated training time.

Core values done right

• Single-word core values (e.g. "proactivity") are unclear — use short phrases that need no explanation.
• Examples: "deliver what you promise", "respect the individual", "find a better way".
• Maximum four or five values; never arrange them into an acronym.
• Praise people publicly and specifically when they live a core value — tie the compliment to the value by name.
• Be willing to fire people who break core values; aspirational-only values are worthless.

Teaching people to see, not just do

• Don't point out the problem — ask "what do you see?" and wait for them to find it.
• Use the Socratic method: "What other ways could we do this?" gets people to own the solution.
• Look for missing or broken systems, not people to blame: "What system should we have to prevent this?"
• Slow down enough to grow people instead of doing the work yourself — it produces better results.

Lead conversion and marketing tactics

• Adroll or Google remarketing: visitors see your ads across the web for weeks; you only pay on clicks.
• Respond to leads within minutes — automated ping or VA to book a call immediately.
• Multi-channel follow-up: personalised Loom video, text message, then phone.
• Send value-first content for several days (e.g. "top 10 ways insurers shortchange you") before selling.
• Use video calls, not just phone — camera-on connection converts at a higher rate.
• Remove formal attire from your website and client calls; authenticity sells faster than credentials.

Structural foundations for running two companies

• Each company needs a vivid vision: a four-to-five-page written description of what it looks like three years out.
• Each company needs a one-year plan covering revenue, profit, staffing, marketing, and operations.
• Shared core values can span both companies if they are genuinely aligned.
• Enforce EOS right-people-right-seats ruthlessly across both entities.