Oh man, have you ever felt like you're playing a game of whack-a-mole with your business problems? You fix one thing, and BAM, another issue pops up somewhere else.

It’s a frustrating cycle, right? You're not alone.

This is an incredibly common trap that leaders fall into: they get so focused on treating the symptoms that they completely miss the root causes.

Here at INTENT, we see it all the time, and trust me, it’s a direct path to burnout and stalled growth.

Let’s chat about why this happens and, more importantly, how you can break free and start building a truly healthy business.

The "Fix the Symptom" Trap

It’s easy to get caught up in the immediate fire-fighting.

A symptom is often an urgent, visible problem that demands your attention.

Think about it like a headache. You take a pill, the headache goes away for a bit, but if the headache is caused by dehydration, it’s coming right back. A leader who only treats the symptom might hand out a painkiller, but they won't hand out a glass of water.

This short-term thinking can lead to a cycle of reactive decision-making. You're constantly putting out fires instead of building a fireproof structure. You spend resources, time and energy on temporary fixes, and the underlying issue festers, often leading to more complex problems down the line.

It's not a path to sustainable, long-term success.

Let's look at a classic example.

We recently worked with a client, a mid-sized tech company, that was struggling with high employee turnover in its sales department. Their leaders were trying to fix the problem by offering bigger bonuses and running more frequent team-building events.

Those are great ideas on the surface, right? More money and team morale should solve everything. But the turnover continued. They were treating the symptom (high turnover) with temporary fixes (bonuses, events) instead of digging into the cause.

When we came in, we did a roundtable and a deeper dive. We didn't just look at the turnover numbers; we talked to the team, both those who had left and those who stayed.

What we found was a series of underlying issues:

• Symptom: High turnover in the sales team.

• Initial "Fix": Higher bonuses, incentives and more team events.

• The Real Cause: The sales process was clunky and inefficient. The core of the issue was an enormous administrative burden. Their outdated CRM and disconnected software meant salespeople spent more time on manual data entry, creating reports and chasing approvals than on actual selling. The "team-building" events felt forced and didn't address the core frustration of being bogged down in paperwork. The incentives were deemed not worth the extra effort.

By focusing on the symptom, the company had wasted money on bonuses and events that didn't work. The high admin workload wasn't just inefficient; it was demoralising and by the time they called us, their culture was also taking a hit.

The INTENT Scaling Diet: Your Path to a Healthier Business

So, how do you avoid this trap and start focusing on what truly matters?

It’s about being purposeful and deliberate in every action.

• Stop, Look, and Listen: Before you jump to a solution, stop. Listen to your people. What are they really saying? Don't just look at the numbers; get a feel for the culture and the day-to-day operations. Our client learned that their team was trying to tell them about the inefficient software and administration burden, but leaders were too focused on the quick fix.

• Ask "Why?" (Five Times): The "Five Whys" technique is a simple yet powerful tool.

• Start with the problem and ask "why" it's happening, then take that answer and ask "why" again. Keep going until you get to the core. This gentle but assertive approach led us directly to the overwhelming administrative workload.

• Data with a Heartbeat: Numbers are important, but they don't tell the whole story. You need to combine quantitative data (turnover rates, sales figures) with qualitative data (employee interviews, feedback sessions). This gives you a holistic view of the problem, a "heartbeat" that tells you what the numbers can't.

• Partner for Success: The Power of Intentional Change Management.

Don't try to solve complex problems alone. This is where a partner like INTENT comes in. You see, the solution isn't just about fixing the software; it's about helping people navigate that change. Change management is a term that often gets thrown around in corporate circles like a fancy buzzword, but when done right, it's the rocket fuel for success.

It's the difference between a project that gets implemented and a change that actually sticks.

At INTENT, we aren't just consultants who hand you a report and walk away. We are experts in the human side of change. We become an extension of your team, laser-focused on results and execution. We worked side-by-side with our client, not just to redesign their structure, but to address their core pain point: administrative burden. Automation implementation was the key.

We helped them identify which repetitive, time-consuming tasks were best suited for automation—things like data entry, report generation, and sales pipeline updates.

We then helped them vet and implement a new, integrated CRM that automated these tasks, freeing up their salespeople to do what they do best.

But we didn't stop there.

We prepared, equipped, trained and supported their team through the entire transition. We held workshops, provided clear communication on the "why" behind the changes and offered hands-on training so everyone felt confident and empowered.

The result? Turnover plummeted, morale soared and sales finally started to climb again because their team could focus on what they do best: selling.

Ready to Ditch the Band-Aids?

Don't let your business get stuck in the cycle of treating symptoms.

True scaling comes from building a strong, healthy foundation.

At INTENT, our motto is simple: We make ambition reality.

We partner with you, we get our hands dirty and we ensure that every action is intentional and leads to real, sustainable growth.

Ready to stop playing whack-a-mole and start building a legacy?

Let’s chat.

Contact us today and let's turn your big ambitions into a powerful, profitable reality.