Fix This Next
Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business
Book Edition Details
Summary
In the chaotic world of entrepreneurship, pinpointing the exact root of a business's woes can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Mike Michalowicz, celebrated for his dynamic approach to business strategy, offers a lifeline with "Fix This Next." Imagine your business as a living organism, each part interconnected and vital. When something goes awry, understanding which component to focus on first can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving. Michalowicz introduces a revolutionary tool—the Business Hierarchy of Needs—a blueprint that guides entrepreneurs in diagnosing and addressing their most pressing challenges. With humor and authenticity, he shares real-life tales of struggle and success, illustrating how addressing the right issues in the right order can transform any business into a powerhouse of growth and innovation. Whether you're battling stagnant sales or staff turnover, this insightful guide promises clarity and direction for your entrepreneurial journey.
Introduction
Every morning, you face the same overwhelming reality: a dozen fires burning, endless demands competing for attention, and that nagging feeling that despite all your hard work, your business isn't moving forward as it should. You're caught in what feels like an endless loop of urgent problems, each one screaming for immediate attention. The question that haunts every business owner isn't whether problems exist, but which one deserves your precious time and energy right now. The truth is, most entrepreneurs are solving the wrong problems at the wrong time, which keeps them trapped in survival mode rather than building toward sustainable success. What if there was a way to cut through the chaos and identify exactly what your business needs to fix next? What if you could transform your reactive scrambling into strategic progress, moving systematically toward the thriving enterprise you envisioned when you first started?
Master the Business Hierarchy of Needs
At the heart of every struggling business lies a fundamental misunderstanding: the belief that all problems are created equal. Just as humans have a hierarchy of needs that must be satisfied in order, from basic survival to self-actualization, businesses have their own hierarchy that determines which needs must be addressed before others. This Business Hierarchy of Needs consists of five critical levels: Sales, Profit, Order, Impact, and Legacy. Each level builds upon the foundation of the previous one, and attempting to skip ahead or work out of sequence leads to instability and frustration. Dave Rinn discovered this truth during one of his most challenging periods as a business owner. Running a successful coaching and cash-management firm, Dave found himself buried under an avalanche of work when two key staff members were unavailable. In the past, his instinct would have been to enter "fire-extinguisher mode," frantically addressing whatever problem screamed the loudest. But this time, something was different. On his office wall hung a simple tool that changed everything: the Business Hierarchy of Needs assessment. Instead of panicking, Dave took fifteen minutes to systematically work through the hierarchy. Starting at the foundation with Sales, he checked off what was working and identified what wasn't. He discovered that while he had plenty of inquiries, he was attracting the wrong type of clients. Corporate customers were stretching payments to 90 days or more, crushing his cash flow despite healthy revenue numbers. The real issue wasn't the quantity of prospects but their quality, specifically in the area of Prospect Attraction. The process is elegantly simple: identify which needs are satisfied at each level, pinpoint the lowest level with unmet needs, focus on the most crucial gap, and implement solutions until that need is adequately addressed. Then repeat the process. This systematic approach prevents you from wasting energy on surface-level symptoms while the real problem festers underneath. When Dave applied this method, he immediately stopped his charitable efforts to focus on defining his ideal client avatar. Within weeks, he had transformed his business from chaos to clarity, from reactive scrambling to strategic progress.
Build Strong Foundation: Sales, Profit, Order
The first three levels of the hierarchy form the "getting" foundation that every business must master before it can effectively give back to the world. Sales creates the cash flow that keeps your doors open. Profit provides the stability that allows you to weather storms and invest in growth. Order builds the efficiency that frees you from being trapped in daily operations. These three levels work together like the foundation, first floor, and second floor of a building, each one essential for supporting what comes next. Jacob Limmer's journey with his coffee shops perfectly illustrates this progression. Despite thirteen years in business, Jacob made a shocking discovery when he honestly assessed his foundation: he had never clearly defined what the company's sales performance needed to be to support his personal comfort. This fundamental gap, called Lifestyle Congruence, had kept him grinding away for over a decade without ever taking home the income he needed. His ego wanted to believe he was beyond such basic considerations, but the hierarchy revealed the hard truth that needed addressing. Once Jacob faced this reality and calculated that he needed four thousand dollars monthly for "Midwest comfort," everything changed. He could finally set meaningful sales goals based on actual requirements rather than arbitrary targets. But the hierarchy didn't stop there. Moving up to the Profit level, Jacob discovered another critical gap: debt eradication. Years of small moral compromises, deciding which bills to pay on time and which checks to "forget to sign," had created a waterfall of debt that undermined every achievement. The key insight is that you cannot successfully work on higher levels until the foundation is solid. Attempting to focus on impact and legacy while struggling with basic profitability is like trying to decorate the third floor while the basement floods. Jacob learned to embrace this systematic approach, fixing one level at a time, building the stability that would eventually support his bigger dreams. The process requires patience and humility, but it creates lasting transformation rather than temporary fixes.
Create Lasting Impact and Legacy
Once your foundation is rock-solid, you can shift from "getting" to "giving" and begin building something that transcends mere business success. The Impact level transforms your offering from transactional to transformational, creating devoted clients who see your business as part of a meaningful movement. The Legacy level ensures your positive impact continues long after you've moved on, establishing something permanent that serves the world for generations. Philip Wilson's journey with Ecofiltro in Guatemala demonstrates this transformation beautifully. Initially a stock-watching retiree, Phil discovered that 80 percent of Guatemalan families lacked clean water, forcing them to burn expensive firewood daily for purification. Rather than starting a traditional nonprofit, Phil built a sustainable social enterprise where urban sales finance affordable rural distribution. His goal was audaciously simple: clean water for one million families by 2020, and as of this writing, they're on track to achieve it. The magic happened when Phil realized that business success and social impact weren't opposing forces but complementary ones. Ecofiltro had to master Sales by creating products people wanted to buy. They needed Profit to fund their mission sustainably. They required Order to scale efficiently across rural Guatemala. Only with this foundation could they achieve real Impact, transforming lives while building a Legacy that would outlast any individual founder. Phil discovered what he calls the greatest business truth: you must establish getting to enable giving. This progression from foundation to legacy isn't just about feel-good stories. It's about building something truly valuable that attracts the best people, creates fierce customer loyalty, and generates sustainable competitive advantages. When your business operates at the Impact and Legacy levels, price becomes secondary because customers want to be part of something meaningful. The work becomes energizing rather than draining because everyone understands their role in something bigger than themselves. The ultimate test of legacy is whether your business can continue its positive impact without you. This requires intentional leadership development, community building, and systems that adapt to changing circumstances while preserving core values. It means transitioning from owner to steward, ensuring that what you've built serves the world long after you've moved on to other adventures.
Summary
The path to business transformation isn't found in complex strategies or revolutionary innovations, but in the disciplined application of a simple truth: fix the right thing at the right time, in the right sequence. As the hierarchy reveals, "The biggest problem business owners have is that they don't know what their biggest problem is." This systematic approach transforms the overwhelming chaos of entrepreneurship into a clear pathway forward, where each problem solved strengthens the foundation for the next level of growth. Your business is closer to breakthrough than you realize. The skills, drive, and determination that brought you this far are exactly what you need to complete the journey. Pin the hierarchy above your desk, use it daily, and trust the process. Take fifteen minutes right now to honestly assess where your business stands, identify your most vital need, and commit to fixing that next before moving on to anything else.
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By Mike Michalowicz
