When Business Performance Has a Hidden Cause

By Neil S. Kohrn

Canceled contracts. Customer complaints. A substantial decline in sales performance.

The board believed the circumstances warranted examination beyond ordinary market conditions. An adviser was engaged to determine what was happening and develop a strategy to address it.

The assignment was presented internally as a market assessment and an examination of new opportunities. Working alongside the sales executive allowed the adviser to examine the operation without announcing the concerns that had prompted the engagement. Absolute confidentiality was essential.

The work began with understanding the company’s current situation and desired outcome. What had changed? Where was performance deteriorating? What explained the canceled contracts and complaints?

Outdated sales processes, market saturation, execution failures, and changes in customer demand were possible explanations. Each deserved examination. None could be accepted simply because it was familiar.

As the investigation progressed, it revealed circumstances beyond the sales operation. The adviser then had to establish whether a connection existed between those circumstances and the declining performance—and, if so, determine its significance.

The investigation established that individuals whose personal financial interests conflicted with the company’s interests were colluding to depress its share price. The deterioration in business performance was being deliberately influenced to advance those interests.

That finding changed the required response.

A revised sales strategy would have left the underlying conduct untouched. Before the business could move forward, leadership had to address what the investigation had uncovered.

The lesson is practical: a decline in performance describes a result. It does not establish its cause.

An adviser must examine the evidence, test explanations, and follow relevant connections wherever they lead. Conclusions must distinguish what is suspected from what has been established.

Confidentiality makes that work possible. People must be able to provide information without turning an investigation into workplace speculation. Findings must reach those responsible for acting on them, with discretion and precision.

Business owners do not need every obstacle to have an extraordinary explanation. They need an accurate understanding of the circumstances preventing the result they seek.

Sometimes the findings support a familiar operational remedy. Sometimes they reveal conduct that no conventional business strategy can correct.

The adviser’s responsibility is to determine which circumstances exist—and provide clear direction based on what the evidence establishes.