“As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.” Proverbs 27:18 NLT
From USD 27 Million Loss to Purpose-Driven Profitability
Last September 19, 2025, I was honored to join a panel of industry leaders to discuss “Inspiring People to Drive Purpose, Profitability, and Innovation.” During the session, I shared a business turnaround case study that continues to inspire me.
A Five-Year Struggle
A close entrepreneur friend led a company that had accumulated USD 27 million in losses over five years. By the last quarter of 2024, the company—traditionally managed was forced to downsize simply to stay afloat. It looked like a classic cautionary tale. But what happened next turned it into a business turnaround case study worth sharing.
The Strategy Behind the Recovery
Rather than relying solely on cost-cutting, the leadership pursued a transparent, people-centered strategy. Drawing inspiration from Jack Stack’s The Great Game of Business, we adapted its principles and applied what was practical and achievable in our own context.
As it turned out, the very steps we took were a practical demonstration of my ASK framework in action.
This strategy lifted morale, sharpened purpose, and gave every employee a stake in the company’s future. Below are the key actions we implemented, each mapping naturally to the ASK framework.
ALIGN: Create Shared Understanding and Purpose
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Lead With Transparency – Share the real financial score to build trust.
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Make Numbers Understandable – Train everyone to read financial reports in simple language.
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Co-Create the Targets – Involve employees in setting financial goals for authentic buy-in.
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Connect Roles to Results – Show each person how their work drives financial success.
STRENGTHEN: Build Capability and Accountability
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Reward Collective Success – Share the wealth when targets are met to reinforce ownership.
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Align HR for Impact – HR interventions focus on helping departments fulfill their role in hitting financial goals.
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Empower Agility – Aside from regulatory compliance, give business units space to respond quickly to disruptions and opportunities.
KICKSTART: Spark Innovation and Continuous Improvement
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Strengthen Communication Loops – Enhance cross-level dialogue and invite feedback.
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Honor Your Word – Credibility fuels trust; keep promises big and small.
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Celebrate and Share – Recognize achievements and distribute the gains to sustain momentum.
The Outcome
By the third quarter of 2025, the company had fully paid off the USD 27 million in accumulated losses.
Employees were already receiving quarterly profit shares, and the organization was firmly on track to meet its 2025 financial targets.
What began as a crisis became a textbook business turnaround case study—driven not by spreadsheets alone, but by purpose, people, and trust.
Lessons for Leaders
This story shows that a business turnaround is not only about restructuring finances. It’s about engaging employees, building trust, and aligning everyone with a shared purpose.
The company’s success is proof that when leaders Align employees with the organization’s purpose and financial reality, Strengthen their skills and accountability, and Kickstart innovation and a culture of shared success, purpose-driven profitability becomes achievable.
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