The 5 Obsessions of Elite Organizations: A Blueprint for Leaders Who Want ROI and ROL with Michael Erath and Joe Polish

The Joe Polish Show

Michael Erath reveals the five obsessions that drive elite business performance and sustainable growth. From recovering after a $45M business collapse to building a customizable operating system, Michael shares powerful lessons every Entrepreneur should hear.

Here’s a glance at what you’ll discover in this episode:

• How Michael Erath lost a $45 million company—but walked away with a better business model, a better marriage, and a blueprint for building elite organizations. (Here's the system that turned a betrayal and bank fraud into one of the most valuable leadership toolkits you’ve never heard of.)
• Why most “people problems” in your business come down to this one overlooked cause—and how Michael’s Mission/MCO/Obsessions framework eliminates it before it infects your team.
• Why your people don’t need more perks or ping pong tables—they need THIS principled, plug-and-play system that unlocks performance, purpose, and profits.
• The $100 Bill Exercise: How a pair of scissors, a blown-up banknote, and one bold demonstration taught an entire factory team financial literacy—and why your team’s ignorance of margin may be killing your business.
• The Hidden Cost Of Onboarding By Firehose: If you haven’t documented a 90-day onboarding journey with check-ins and calibrations, you’re not onboarding—you’re waterboarding.
• How to stop saying “we’re too busy to systemize” and finally build the playbooks that make fires go away for good. (Plus: How Michael uses Loom, AI, and ChatGPT to turn chaos into clarity—without adding headcount.)
• Stop Hoping For “Ownership” And Define It Instead: Why saying “I’ll own that” is meaningless without a clear outcome, guardrails, and accountability. (And how Michael trains leaders to own outcomes, not just tasks.)
• The 7 People Solutions framework for retaining (or releasing) underperformers—without drama, excuses, or endless “coaching” loops. (Use this to fix your culture without wrecking your calendar.)
• Why Most Entrepreneurs Sabotage Their Own Teams: Michael’s blunt answer to the “arsonist-leader” dilemma—and how to build a business operating system that puts the user before the tool.

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