How a rubber belt distributor cut owner hours and 4x'd gross profit

Executive overview

A founder-led distribution business had the owner as the single bottleneck — every decision came back to him, including weekend admin. The fix was structural, not motivational.

Coach Geoff Gwynn applied three tools in sequence: talent assessment to identify who could step up, a functional accountability chart to assign clear ownership, and a process accountability chart to fix cross-functional breakdowns. Within one year, sales rose 30% and gross profit grew 4x.

When the owner stops being the bottleneck, growth accelerates without requiring more of their time.

Building the management team with talent assessment

• The talent assessment tool maps people on two axes: fit to company values and performance in role.
• A players: high fit, high performance. B players: high fit, underperforming — coaching or role change needed. C players: low on one or both axes.
• One underutilised employee with strong values fit was developed into the operations lead.
• A long-tenured but declining employee had responsibilities reduced; she became more engaged.
• The bookkeeper — low performance, low fit — left; replaced by a management accountant and a trainee.
• Better financial reporting meant Dan could end the weekend catch-up sessions.

Clarifying ownership with the functional accountability chart

• The functional accountability chart (FACE) identifies which key functions every business needs — irrespective of job titles — and who owns each.
• Common failure mode: no clear accountability, so tasks fall between people or get duplicated.
• For this business, three functions were prioritised in year one: sales and marketing, operations, and finance.
• Operations gap was the most critical — no one owned inventory control or dispatch performance.
• Each function was given defined outputs, then KPIs were built from those outputs.

Getting KPIs right through iteration

• Initial operations KPI: 100% same-day dispatch. Customer complaints rose — the logistics provider was shipping incomplete orders.
• One word changed the metric: "100% complete same-day shipments." Behavior shifted immediately.
• Completeness rates reached 98–99% after the change.
• KPIs require refinement; the first version is rarely the right version.
• Systems sometimes can't produce the stat you need — going manual (clipboard in the shipping area) is a valid interim fix.

Fixing cross-functional processes with PACE

• The process accountability chart (PACE) maps key processes that span multiple functions — quoting to cash collection, purchasing to dispatch.
• For this business, the critical process was stock control: the North American manufacturer was shipping incomplete against orders, creating wrong-stock and short-stock situations.
• A stock control process was built, owned through finance, monitoring high-turnover items and 30-day stock outlook.
• Tightening inventory reduced duplicate shipping costs, which directly expanded gross margin.
• The data gathered also supported a negotiation with the manufacturer for extended payment terms on ~$1M of additional stock.

Year two outlook

• Organic growth target: 50% year-on-year.
• Strategic acquisition in scope — a complementary product line sold into the existing customer base.
• Combined organic plus acquisition path could double the business within 12 months.
• The foundation is the same: right people in clear roles, with processes and metrics that surface problems early.