You know your business can perform better. It seems that the biggest challenge is not a lack of ideas, and you know what the issues are. The challenge is to get all the moving parts aligned. You must work on this engine while it is running.

You have good people with the odd exception. You have good or not so good customers, and you want more. You have good systems, but there is always room for improvement. You know your numbers, or maybe you don't.

All the key components are there, but somehow they don't always work together as they could.

As a chartered accountant with an in depth understanding of systems and processes, I cracked a few tough nuts over the course of my interesting career. Yet, there was always something missing. Certain aspects of the business ran like clockwork, while others were the proverbial spanner in the wheel.

Through intense analysis, consistent and focused effort, I succeeded where others before me failed. And yet, things were not all they could have been. Some of the reasons were glaringly obvious; others were not. I simply could not see them because I was blissfully unaware of my blind spots.

That changed.

I discovered that the key is to know what you don't know—and to have the humility to remain teachable.