Most CEOs treat symptoms, not root causes.
Margins dip? They blame inflation.
Sales slow? Must be marketing.
A top performer quits? Just a bad hire, right?
Wrong. That thinking keeps you stuck.
When I coach CEOs, I use one simple framework that changes everything:
The Five Whys.
It forces you to dig past the obvious and uncover what’s actually hurting your margins and growth.
Shrinking Margins: It’s Not Just a Cost Problem
Here’s a real example:
You run a $20M company. Margins start slipping.
First thought:
“Costs are rising faster than sales.”
True—but that’s just the first layer.
Let’s ask why:
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Why? We haven’t raised prices.
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Why? We’re nervous customers will churn.
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Why? Competitors raised prices but also improved their product.
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Why? We haven’t invested in product enhancements.
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Why? No clear owner of pricing or product strategy.
Boom.
Your real problem? A leadership and accountability gap.
It’s not about cutting costs—it’s about fixing execution.
Use the Apex CEO Playbook + Five Whys
I teach clients to break problems down across four key areas:
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Alignment
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Product
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People
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Margins
Let’s go deeper into each using the Five Whys.
1. Alignment: Why Your Team Is Slowing You Down
Your exec team says they’re aligned—but are they?
Example:
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Why aren’t we hitting sales goals?
→ No clear pricing strategy. -
Why no pricing strategy?
→ Sales, finance, and marketing aren’t aligned. -
Why?
→ Leadership isn’t setting direction.
Root cause: Misaligned leadership.
Fix that, and execution improves across the board.
2. Product: Why It’s Not Selling Like It Should
If sales feel stuck, check the product—not just the pitch.
Example:
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Why are we losing to competitors?
→ Their product improved—ours didn’t. -
Why?
→ We’re focused on short-term sales. -
Why?
→ Leadership’s ignoring the product roadmap.
Root cause: No accountability for innovation.
3. People: Why Execution Is Stalling
Hiring “better people” won’t fix a broken org chart.
Example:
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Why are deadlines slipping?
→ Projects stall. -
Why?
→ No clear ownership. -
Why?
→ Leaders aren’t assigning accountability.
Root cause: No structure, no ownership, no follow-through.
4. Margins: Why Cutting Costs Won’t Save You
Back to margins.
What most do:
Cut costs. Lay off. Squeeze suppliers.
But if you haven’t fixed the foundation—pricing, product, leadership—this is just temporary relief.
Instead, ask:
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Why haven’t we raised prices?
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Why aren’t we upselling high-margin products?
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Why aren’t we negotiating better terms?
Root cause: Strategic blind spots—masked as “cost problems.”
What You Should Do Today
Here’s the play:
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Identify the symptom (e.g. shrinking margins, turnover, flat sales).
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Ask “Why?” five times.
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Don’t accept surface answers—go deeper.
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Look for root causes: leadership, accountability, or execution gaps.
That’s how you actually fix your business.
Final Thought
Most companies don’t fall apart from one massive mistake.
They stall out from a series of small, unresolved issues that quietly erode performance.
Use the Five Whys. Apply it relentlessly.
And if you need help walking through it—I do this every week with growth-stage CEOs.
Let’s map your real bottlenecks and build a clear action plan.
