What Happens When Hard Work Isn’t Enough?

James leaned back in his chair, staring at the quarterly report like it might reveal the answers he desperately needed. For years, his marketing agency had been the pride of his life—an ambitious startup that had grown into a $10-million business with 40 employees. But lately, it felt like the wheels were coming off.

Revenue had stagnated. Two of their biggest clients had left. Even his leadership team seemed out of sync. Every Monday meeting felt more like a tug-of-war than a strategy session. “How did it come to this?” James muttered. He’d always been the guy with the answers, the spark, the vision. But now, no matter how hard he worked, the business felt stuck—and so did he.