We move to the second foundational question of Trojan Horse: Is your company ready for change?.

Dean warns that external consultants often fail because they skip the mindset shift, leaving leaders unable to implement tactical changes. You cannot succeed if your foundation is built on a lie (e.g., fooling yourself about reality). A critical indicator of failure is nepotism—being unwilling to fire a family member who undermines the business or telling lies to employees.

We address why many founders are emotionally immature in business interactions. This is often because they were never taught EQ or security, and they lead erratically, creating an "us and them" attitude where one set of rules applies to the owner and another to employees. Dean outlines the necessary approach: be inquisitive, not accusatory, when addressing employee issues. By patiently asking why an employee is late, you might discover a simple, fixable reason (like changing their start time) rather than firing a good person.

A company cannot succeed if the leader hasn't communicated the 12-month goal and how to get there. Employees' brains must be engaged toward a common destination; otherwise, every subsequent functional action fails.

Next time, we kick off the tactical BASICS framework with Brute Force.

Recommended Components

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