The Systems That Held Our Elevator Business Together

For several years leading up to 2020, I had been steadily building structure into my elevator business. This was mostly because I was tired of running a company that depended entirely on instinct, stress, and my own mental bandwidth to survive.

I knew that impactful implementation of new systems would not happen overnight and would likely take years to refine, but it was well worth it to experience the ripple effects those systems made throughout my company.

We had implemented clearer financial tracking, consistent forecasting habits, meeting rhythms, and operational processes that allowed us to see what was actually happening in the business instead of guessing based on our revenue or gut feeling.

At the time, it felt like slow and sometimes downright teeth-pulling, tedious work, but it gave us something far more valuable than efficiency, and that was control and predictability.

Those pieces are what mattered when the world changed almost overnight.

When Uncertainty Hit, We Didn’t Have to Panic

As the pandemic unfolded and the ripple effects started hitting the elevator industry, there was no shortage of fear or uncertainty. Jobs slowed immensely even though we were classified as “essential”. Customers paused on their decisions because of financial uncertainty.

No one knew how long the disruption would last, and like many business owners, I felt the weight of knowing that people’s livelihoods at Madden Elevator depended on the decisions I was about to make.

What was different for us was that we weren’t operating in the dark.

Because of the forecasting systems we had already built, we could model realistic scenarios to determine the future of the company. We understood our cash position, our margins, our backlog, and what the business could sustain under different conditions. That allowed us to step back, slow down, and evaluate all of our options with much more intention rather than a panicked urgency.

Two Paths Forward — And the Courage to Be Honest

When we laid everything out, two viable paths emerged.

One option involved cutting heads to preserve financial stability. The other required tightening margins and moving to a four-day workweek so that we could keep our entire team employed while weathering the uncertainty together.

Neither option was easy, and neither came without sacrifice.

What mattered most, though, was that these weren’t just guesses I threw out there as a hail mary. They were modeled outcomes based on our own real data, real forecasts, and a clear understanding of how our business was functioning up until this point.

Because of that, I didn’t feel the need to make the decision in isolation.

Why Trust Changed Everything

By that point, we had built enough structure, routine, and consistency into the business that our people trusted the process—and more importantly, they trusted their own leadership.

How many other elevator business owners out there can confidently say the same?

Expectations had been clear long before the crisis ever arrived. We didn’t make decisions behind closed doors and our systems were never used to control our people, but instead, to support them.

So instead of dictating the outcome, we brought all of this information into a conversation with the team, walked them through the realities of the situation, explained what each path meant, and gave them the space to weigh in honestly without a fear of retaliation or hidden consequences.

That only works in a business when trust has already been established.

The Choice They Made — And What It Revealed

The team chose the four-day workweek.

That choice was rooted in confidence. Confidence that leadership had done the work ahead of time, that the numbers were real, and that Madden Elevator Company was committed to taking care of its people even when the future felt rocky and uncertain.

We came through that period far more stable than many competitors, and that sure wasn’t because of luck.

It was solely because our leadership, operations, and financial systems were working together exactly as they were designed to.

The Real Lesson

What that experience proved to me was simple: systems will create control, predictability, and sustainability LONG before you realize how badly you need it.

When your leadership, operations, and financial structure are aligned, you don’t have to lead from a place of fear. You can make the hard decisions in your business with confidence, involve your people honestly, and move forward without burning any trust or morale in the process.

Implementing the right structure and systems into my elevator business earned us long-lasting success.

The Next Step

What we teach inside eGROW 2.0 is a refined version of the same leadership, operational, and financial systems that carried our business through that moment.

This mentorship was built from real industry experience, pressure-tested in real situations, and designed to help elevator business owners create clarity, predictability, and control before they need it most.

If this story resonated with you and you’ve been feeling the weight of knowing everything rests on your decisions, then this program was built for you.

The eGROW 2.0 waitlist is now open.

Joining the waitlist gives you first access to the program details, enrollment access, and exclusive early bonus opportunities as we roll out mid-February.

The best time to build sustainable systems in your elevator business isn’t when things are falling apart. It’s before they ever get to that point.

Join the eGROW 2.0 Waitlist by clicking here.