I sat down with a CEO. Five minutes into our conversation, I caught the first...

I sat down with a CEO. Five minutes into our conversation, I caught the first lie—and then everything unraveled.

The contract was signed.

I’d been paid in full.

I had already started the work—and it was all based on false assumptions.

I was hired to work with his sales and customer service teams.

He told me his best customers were leaving.

Sales were slipping.

And, of course, it was all because of his sales team and customer service department.

So I started digging. I talked to every person in those departments. I reviewed all the data.

Something wasn’t adding up. His team wasn’t the problem. They were doing great work.

So I sat him down and asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”

And then he let it slip…

“Well, I didn’t know the Feds were going to get involved.”

🚨 Excuse me—what did you just say?! 🚨

He repeated himself, casually, like it was no big deal.

“Yeah, I didn’t know they were going to get involved.”

Turns out, he was the reason customers were leaving.

His competitors knew it and were using it to steal his best clients. They were sending his customers emails and letters that said… "Is this really the type of company you want to work with?"

And yet—he spent months blaming his employees instead of owning the real problem.

I had been brought in to fix customer retention and stagnant growth.

But how do you “fix” a company when the CEO himself is the problem?

This is what bad leadership looks like.

Blaming sales when customers don’t trust you.

Blaming service when reputation is in flames.

Pointing fingers at everyone except the person responsible.

Because leadership isn’t just about strategy.

It’s about accountability.

Most leaders say they want answers. They say they want the truth. They say they want to improve.

But when faced with the uncomfortable truth, most look away.

Do you actually want to fix the problem?

Or just find someone else to blame?

And if you think that was bad… wait until you hear what else this guy was doing. (stay tuned...)