How a stuck $18M company grew from 7% to 28% revenue growth

Executive overview

A long-tenured management team running a wholesale food distributor had stalled at breakeven and 7% annual growth. The CEO, promoted from within, was chasing his managers on every task and avoiding the direct communication his team needed.

The turnaround came in three layers over three years: building basic leadership habits, installing a cascading one-page operating plan, and selectively hiring experienced external executives.

Bringing in one experienced VP of Sales — without firing anyone — tripled the company's growth rate within a year.

Leadership and communication foundations

• CEO avoided one-on-ones; managers would flood him whenever his door opened
• First intervention: restructure meetings so the CEO guided rather than absorbed
• Introduced structured one-on-ones and listening disciplines for the CEO
• Goal: shift managers from passengers in the trunk to drivers with a hand on the wheel
• Leadership development is necessary but insufficient — sometimes you need to buy in experience

Operating plan and accountability system

• Built a one-page plan for the business with individual plans cascading down to each of six managers
• Each manager owned specific targets, metrics, and project dates
• Monthly plan reviews: managers stood up and reported progress — publicly, with dates
• Accountability felt uncomfortable at first; became motivating once people could also claim wins
• Metrics didn't need to be sophisticated — they measured "wow" moments (compliments from customers) before any formal CRM data was available
• Dashboards made performance visible to everyone; no hiding

Bringing in external leadership

• After year one: profits moved from breakeven to 3.5%; sales flat — identified sales leadership as the constraint
• Hired first external executive: a VP of Sales with experience at scale, warm and personable rather than a "fire breather"
• Result: growth jumped from 7% to 18% within a year; profits reached 6%
• The prior sales lead stayed — the new VP managed diligently, installed CRM discipline, defined sales behaviours
• With cash flow and momentum established, hired a VP of Operations; prior ops lead now reported up and gained a mentor
• Growth continued to accelerate to 28%

Pacing and sequencing change

• Full turnaround took three years, not one
• First-year plans were deliberately simple — e.g. a KPI just to hold a monthly customer service meeting
• Simple measures changed behaviour; fancy systems came later once the habit was established
• Each step unlocked the next: plan clarity → accountability → external hires → strategic thinking
• CEO and top leaders eventually needed to shift focus from today's tasks to 6–12 months ahead

What made it work

• CEO changed how he led — adopted communication disciplines he had avoided
• No one was fired; culture of tenure was preserved while performance improved
• New external hires lifted existing managers by example and mentorship rather than replacement
• Growth made the business more fun — competitive energy returned, new markets became visible
• A "mighty midsized" business doesn't require massive funding; it requires the right process and sequenced leadership