If you know me, you’ve likely heard about my obsession: to inoculate immortality into small businesses. I call this mission “Eradicating Business Covid.”
What is Business Covid™?
It’s a pandemic quietly killing 180,000 small to medium-sized businesses every year. This silent epidemic takes 2 million jobs and 4% of U.S. GDP growth with it annually.
I explore this more in my book, Buyable: Your Guide to Building a Self-Managing, Fast-Growing, and High-Profit Business.
Here are the common causes of Business Covid:
- Cashflow crises from overgrowth or poor financial management
- Commoditization from a lack of differentiation
- Disruption by emerging technologies or innovative competitors
- People problems, like failing to attract and retain top talent because of weak culture or vision
- Leadership voids, where businesses fail to transition to the next generation or new ownership
This disease kills 11% of the 1.7 million businesses with 10–250 employees each year. But here’s the good news: Business Covid is curable.
Why This Mission Matters
What happens if we prevent Business Covid from taking down these companies?
- Quality jobs will skyrocket.
- With fewer workers available, businesses will innovate, automate repetitive tasks, and educate their teams.
- America’s global competitiveness will surge, benefiting both local and international economies.
This ripple effect will improve living standards here and abroad, funding innovation and even environmental solutions. Call me an idealist, but I see this as a pragmatic way forward.
How Do We Eradicate Business Covid?
Great question. The problem resembles the American healthcare system: the cures exist, but only the well-off and well-connected can access them.
Fortune-ranked companies can survive crises with tools like:
- Business management best practices
- Execution frameworks
- Strategies for reinvention and mergers
But what about small and medium-sized businesses?
Over the last four years, I’ve been developing a solution. It started by distilling lessons from the best 40 business books of the past half-century. I then removed redundancies, created a unified framework, and shaped everything into practical, bite-sized tools that can be taught in five minutes and implemented in weeks.
One such tool, the Function Ownership Chart™, helps businesses assign clear responsibility and accountability for critical functions. It’s an essential first step in building resilient systems and tackling leadership voids.
The result? The Summit Operating System™ (Summit OS®).
The Summit OS Guides™
Summit OS is already being implemented by a growing network of Summit OS Guides, experienced entrepreneurs and leaders trained to help businesses achieve sustainable growth.
These guides are trained in Summit OS Seal Camps™, an intensive program designed to prepare them for this mission. The first Seal Camp will be held in March 2025 in the Washington, DC metro area, training the founding cohort of 12 guides.
Tools like the Vision & Strategy Map™ are key components of this system, enabling businesses to align their long-term vision with actionable strategies. By addressing everything from leadership to execution, the map ensures a clear path toward sustainable growth.
Want to be part of this movement? Details on how to apply for one of these exclusive spots will be announced in early January. You can join the announcement list here.
A Cure for Business Covid
We don’t have to lose 180,000 businesses every year. By providing access to proven tools and strategies, we can help small and medium-sized companies thrive, securing millions of jobs and strengthening the economy.
