Adrian called me in a panic
Danny his CEO had just resigned out of the blue
No real explanation but had cleared out his office and stormed home.
I tried to call Danny to find out what the hell was going on.
No response and no reply to my inquiries.
Adrian called for an emergency meeting at the offices.
We met and it was decided the COO Peter would become acting CEO, the company would continue with its active initiatives and the email accounts and communications with Danny would be cut off.
A few hours later I received a message from Danny
“I’m coming back.”
I called Adrian
“Yeah, Danny is returning tomorrow and will continue his job. It was a misunderstanding but thankfully it’s all sorted now…”
Sorted?
The only thing sorted was that this CEO was bi-polor and volatile.
But Adrian wanted continuity and so Danny was welcome back.
He proceeded to drive out Peter because he was “disloyal.”
Then fired the sales head of the bond division due to a personal conflict on the phone call.”
The clients hated him and cut off their business.
The Board was in an uproar.
One of the main shareholders announced he would not support the business anymore and would not contribute further capital.
6 months after the CEO resigned and came back.. the company liquidated itself and closed for good.
Safe to say they would have survived and thrived if Peter had been allowed to take the reins.
Continuity felt like the safe choice.
But it was just fear in disguise.
And fear cost them everything.
Ask yourself:
Who in your business is quietly draining your customers, your team, your value — but you keep them around because replacing them feels harder than the damage they cause?
If you’ve got a Danny on your payroll…
Don’t wait six months to find out what that mistake costs you.
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P.S. I’m not the “systems guy,” “process guy,” or “finance guy.”
I’m the “build a valuable business” guy—so you can regain the freedom to start living your best life now and exit on your own terms later.
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