You can't maximize EBITDA and invest for growth at the same time. They pull in opposite directions. Here's how to figure out which one your business actually needs this year, and why picking the wrong goal will cost you.

Dave was good at his job. That's not the point. Every time his president let a blowup slide, the whole team learned what actually gets tolerated around here, and it almost cost him his best new hire.

Most service businesses don't have a people problem. They have a systems problem. If your best salesperson walked out tomorrow, how long before revenue felt it? This is the rainmaker problem - and it's more fixable than most owners think.