Your business is like your health. It has certain indicators of when it is incredibly healthy or when there might be something wrong. And just as with health, your business may be thriving with vitality, in average health with room to improve, or in need of some attention and intervention.
In the case of our health, symptoms can range from something as slight as a light persistent cough or a headache that comes and goes, to a severe or crippling condition like an extreme case of sciatica or intense abdominal pain that leaves you doubled over and unable to move. Sometimes there can even be a silent or undetected underlying condition causing slow but steady deterioration under the surface, all but imperceptible until its presence manifests suddenly and undeniably.
Business is no different. Symptoms ranging from a sluggish quarter or a team that’s consistently not quite hitting its mark to a high turnover rate or sudden decline in revenue all stem from underlying conditions needing to be identified and addressed.
As a manual physical therapist, I was trained to look for, identify, and treat not just the symptoms, but the underlying cause of the condition. Things are not always what they seem. Heel pain that mimics plantar fasciitis may be coming from a nerve compressed at the spine, and mid-back pain might be referred from stomach issues. If you only treat the area that’s symptomatic, the pain won’t go away, or if it does it will only be temporary relief at best. The symptoms will persist because the underlying problem still exists. If you find the root cause and fix it, the symptoms will resolve even if they need a little help from some heat, ice, or electrical stimulation. Remove the cause and the effect ceases to exist.
A patient who was a mountain climber, let’s call him Ted, had painful tendonitis in his fingers, causing him not to be able to produce the force required to secure a handhold. Upon closer inspection, Ted’s shoulder blade was weak, causing his fingers to work harder to make up for the lack of stabilization in his shoulder. When his shoulder blade was strong and stable again, the tendonitis went away.
One of my colleague’s patients, we can call him Alan, was an Olympic javelin thrower who blew out his shoulder when, against the advice of his physical therapist, he returned to throwing before his Achilles tendon repair was fully rehabilitated. What does one have to do with the other, you might ask? How could an ankle problem cause a shoulder injury? Alan’s surgery was on the left ankle, and he threw with his right arm. Whenever you throw something, you plant with the foot on the opposite side. The heavier the object and the further or faster you throw it, the more stability and power you need in the planting foot. Alan’s planting foot wasn’t strong enough yet to provide the foundational support required to hurl the javelin. As a result, his shoulder muscles had to overcompensate to make up for the lack of power in his ankle. His rotator cuff couldn’t take the strain and ruptured during one of his throws. As a result, his career as an Olympic athlete was cut painfully short.
In one other eye-opening example, one of my patients suffered with persistent heel pain for over six months. She had all the signs and symptoms of plantar fasciitis, but when several weeks of physical therapy, a course of shockwave treatment, and multiple cortisone shots did nothing to alleviate her pain, I asked about any spine issues. She denied ever having back pain but agreed to get an X-ray of her lower back, which revealed a pinched nerve. After an injection to her lumbar spine her heel pain went away. I was so convinced her heel was the problem that I never thought it might be coming from another source.
Examples like this, of symptoms or results that stem from a seemingly unrelated cause, go on and on. And they don’t just pertain to the human body. They also exist in our companies.
Stunted growth, a downturn in revenue, or a high turnover rate in staffing are real issues we face that can range anywhere from slightly annoying, like that cough that won’t go away, to downright debilitating, like a bad case of sciatica or severe abdominal pain, or anywhere in between. And sometimes the symptom has been around so long that we no longer even notice it’s there. But it is there, and it’s causing our company to run a little sluggish. Or, perhaps it’s causing a significant limitation but no matter what we do we can’t seem to solve the issue so we learn to live with it.
The question we have to ask ourselves is, “What is this stemming from?” An underperforming team is a symptom. A shrinking profit margin is a symptom. The inability to grow is a symptom. We can treat the symptoms with performance improvement plans, bonus incentives, or aggressive budget cuts. But just like my patient whose heel pain was referred from the back, or the mountain climber with finger pain stemming from a weak shoulder, treating the symptoms does not necessarily resolve them. And it certainly doesn’t fix the underlying cause.
In Simon Sinek’s bestseller “Leaders Eat Last”, he shares the story of Bob Chapman, the CEO of the manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, who, according to Sinek, increased the company’s revenue from $55 million to $95 million during his tenure. How did he do it? Bringing in a new hotshot leadership team from the outside to introduce new ideas or change the company’s identity? Promising exciting super-bonuses to the sales teams? No. Simply by removing the time clocks, allowing employees to use company phones instead of pay phones, and granting unrestricted access to all areas of the company grounds, Chapman began inspiring the employees to feel more trusted and part of a community. Over time these small changes resulted in a more employee-centric culture. As a result, they had a revitalized commitment to the company, a renewed sense of pride, and a desire to see the company thrive because of how it made them feel.
In my experience, I’ve seen symptoms manifest in a myriad of ways. In one instance, an office was seeing a decreased profit margin which ultimately stemmed from a technology gap. The clinicians were not trained on how to use the company-issued tablets, which were the only devices available for documentation. In addition, the tablets frequently experienced software crashes rendering the EMR system unusable. Because of the lack of knowledge and software interruptions, the hourly clinicians were taking far longer than anticipated to complete their documentation. In addition, the scheduling system was not geared towards the type of scheduling required in the office, leading to excessive time spent on workarounds and manual patient tracking. These root causes for increased overtime could have been fixed relatively easily with in-person tablet training, acknowledging and addressing the software glitches, and making the recommended updates within the scheduling system to reduce the administrative burden on the clinicians. Instead, none of the issues were addressed and the office was put on performance review for its low productivity. Eventually the staff moved on and the office closed its doors.
In my article from October 17, 2026, When Leadership Changes, the Numbers Follow, I outline my journey with my first real turnaround clinic. The symptoms were pretty severe, with the clinic in the negative double digits for profitability and literally last on the list for all KPIs in the region. The senior leadership team couldn’t figure out what was going on in this clinic and tasked me with finding out and fixing it. As I described in the article, the cancellation rate was up, collections were down, and culture was almost non-existent. It wasn’t that the staff was lazy, uncommitted, or bad. It was a lack of vision, purpose, and accountability that was at fault. Once the team understood their role in restoring people’s quality of life, the importance of holding themselves and their patients accountable, and the impact they had on the team, the patients, and the office, they started moving up in the rankings until they reached the top. A high cancellation rate was not due to too many patients canceling; it was due to the front desk administrator wanting to avoid conflict. A low revenue-per-visit rate wasn’t due to underutilization of care; it was due to clinicians not understanding how to bill properly. And a slow physician referral base wasn’t because there was too much competition in the area; it was because the clinicians were intimidated by the thought of meeting with doctors. A thorough breakdown of each root cause and a thoughtfully curated approach to each aspect allowed for not just improvements on an individual level but also for the office as a whole.
Treat your company like your health. If you’re facing a symptom that’s holding your company back, resist the urge to focus on the specific issue. Instead, ask yourself what some of the potential underlying causes may be. Come up with some hypotheses and put them to the test. You may find that what you thought was the problem is actually stemming from something seemingly unrelated. An underperforming team may be stunted by micromanagement, technology, or lack of vision. A diminishing profit margin could be due to lack of insight, hoarding of information, or inefficient workflows. And sluggish growth might be a result of a fear of failure, unclear priorities, or ineffective communication.
Next, put together a problem list based on your hypotheses. Then, draw up a plan to address each issue along with measurable goals to achieve. Finally, work the plan and trust the process. If you treat your business like your health, it has a far better chance of living a longer and more vibrant life.
If something in your business has been nagging at you like that cough that won’t quit, we’d love to help you get to the root of it. Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to spot what’s really going on. Even I missed that pinched nerve. Reach out anytime. This is what I love to do, and we are here for you!
The Shine Institute is pioneering business wellness and leadership development with cutting-edge technology and innovative methodologies for unsurpassed personal and professional performance and measurable outcomes. Click here to chat with Val about building what’s next.
