Getting Results Through Other People

Author, Chad Haldeman, is a Senior Business Advisor with The Resultants.

To learn more about Chad, visit our Team Page or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Years ago, I worked near the Obermeyer Skiwear office in Colorado.

The founder, Klaus Obermeyer, would still show up every day and shovel the walks.

His son told us, “Go ask my dad why he does that.”

So we did.

And Klaus said, “Why would I ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself?”

Admirable, right? Salt of the earth.

But also? A bottleneck.

If you want to grow your business, you need to move from being a “doer” to becoming someone who gets results through other people.

Entrepreneurial companies usually start with a skilled tradesperson or subject matter expert.

They do the work, then figure out how to invoice for it, maybe rope in a spouse or child to handle bookkeeping, and slowly add employees as needed.

But eventually, that founder’s superpower becomes the constraint.

You can only grow so far as a one-person show, or even a hands-on manager.

Eventually, you hit a ceiling because everything runs through you.

That’s a sign that it’s time to evolve out of the day-to-day so the company can grow beyond you.

Here’s why…

If you’re doing low-value tasks, you’re not available to do the high-value ones.

Another owner I worked with was still changing oil in the company’s fleet.

We asked him, “What’s your most important job?”

He said, “Managing our major customer relationships.”

“That’s worth millions, right?” we asked.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“So why are you doing $20/hour work?”

When you shift into a role where you lead, manage, and delegate, you multiply your impact.

We call this climbing the economic ladder.

For example, let’s say you’re an amazing salesperson.

As a “doer” you can generate a great return.

But if you manage 5 people? That’s a 5x return.

And if you manage 10 managers? That’s a 10x+ return.

We see it happen all the time.

I worked with a company that grew from $2 million to over $60 million in revenue—because the owner shifted out of the weeds and built a leadership team that could run the business day-to-day.

And this shift doesn't just unlock growth. It unlocks freedom.

One client hadn’t taken a vacation with his spouse in five years.

After we helped him bring in the right leader to act as his #2 he took a multi-week trip—guilt-free.

Another told me: “I’ve never been busier, but I’ve never been less stressed.”

5 Steps to Getting Results Through Other People

Here’s what it takes to scale your business without becoming the bottleneck:

1. Begin With the End in Mind

Start with clarity:

• Do you want a lifestyle business or a scalable company?

• Are you a visionary or an operator?

  
  

There’s no one-size-fits-all correct answer. But you need to be intentional.

One of my clients was a gifted developer and the founder of a growing tech company.

Instead of trying to be the CEO, he hired a general manager to run the business—while he stayed hands-on in development.

He wasn’t a constraint because he’d built the structure to support scale.

2. Get the Right People in the Right Seats

This great advice comes from Jim Collins.

The right people share your core values.

The right seat means they get to do what they do best every day.

This is especially true for middle managers. Too often, we promote great individual contributors into roles they’re not suited for.

That doesn’t help them. Or you.

You need people who love to lead, love to manage, or are at least willing and able to learn.

3. Lead and Manage (They’re Not the Same)

Leadership and management often get lumped together, but they’re different.

Managing is about execution. Setting expectations, coaching, holding people accountable, managing systems and processes.

Leading is more about vision, strategy, and culture.

In most mid-sized companies, managers have to do both. But they’re not the same skill set. And not everyone should do both.

As a founder, you might lean toward one more than the other—and that’s fine. Build your team to complement your strengths.

4. Delegate

Delegation is not about handing off garbage work. It’s about giving others the opportunity to grow.

I had one client say, “Chad, I’m not just going to dump all the crap on someone else.”

I laughed and said, “Steve, what you think is crap might be someone else’s candy.”

Delegation creates leverage. For you and your people.

You start climbing the economic ladder.

They start learning and growing.

Win-win.

5. Let Go Strategically, Over Time

This isn’t about hiring three people tomorrow and walking away.

You’ve got to be thoughtful. What’s your next key hire? What’s your timeline? Are you financially ready?

We help our clients architect this transition intentionally, so they’re not exposed or stressed.

And yes, it can be uncomfortable. I had one founder tell me, eyes wide:

“This is my baby.”

Then he paused.

“But I know I need to do it. And I’m grateful I’ve got a process to follow. Otherwise, I never would.”

Getting results through other people isn’t just a tactic. It’s a mindset shift.

And when you make that shift, your entire business changes.

You go from doing $20/hour tasks to driving $2,000/hour impact.

You go from being the bottleneck to being the leader.

You go from stuck in the weeds to finally taking that vacation you deserve.

Most owners already know this shift is necessary.

But they don’t do it because of fear.

• Fear that no one else can do it as well as they can.

• Fear that if they step back, quality will drop—or chaos will ensue.

• Fear that the business is them, and letting go means losing control.

  
  

Those fears are normal. But they’re also limiting.

The truth is: if everything depends on you, then the business isn’t an asset—it’s a job.

And probably a stressful one.

Ready to Make the Shift? You don’t have to figure it out alone.

This evolution doesn’t happen by accident.

At The Resultants, we help growth-minded owners make this shift—with structure, strategy, and a process that works.

If you’d like some support figuring out what’s next, book a call for a consultation. We’d love to help. Let's connect.