Fix This Next

About the Author

Mike Michalowicz is a seasoned entrepreneur who has launched and sold two multimillion-dollar companies. He is also the author of several influential business books, including "Profit First," "The Pumpkin Plan," "Clockwork," and "Get Different." Known for his engaging speaking style, Michalowicz has shared his insights at events like TEDx and CreativeLive. His columns have been featured in notable publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and Harvard Business Review. Michalowicz's practical and innovative approaches to business have helped countless entrepreneurs achieve sustained growth and success.

Main Idea

"Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business" by Mike Michalowicz presents a systematic approach to identifying and addressing the most critical issues in a business. Michalowicz introduces the Business Hierarchy of Needs (BHN), a framework that helps entrepreneurs prioritize their actions by focusing on the most fundamental needs first. By systematically addressing these needs, businesses can achieve stability, efficiency, and ultimately, a lasting impact and legacy.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Business Hierarchy of Needs
3. Find It and Fix It
4. Establish Predictable Sales
5. Create Permanent Profit
6. Achieve Organizational Order
7. First Get, Then Give
8. Evolve from Transaction to Transformation with Impact
9. Spark Your Company’s Forever Legacy
10. Conclusion

Introduction

Mike Michalowicz begins "Fix This Next" by highlighting a common problem faced by entrepreneurs: not knowing what the biggest problem in their business is. Many business owners find themselves trapped in a cycle of addressing urgent but not necessarily important issues, which leads to stagnation. Michalowicz offers a solution through his systematic approach, which allows businesses to focus on the right issues at the right time. He argues that by identifying and fixing the most critical need, businesses can make significant progress and achieve their goals more efficiently.

"The biggest problem entrepreneurs have is that they don’t know what their biggest problem is." - Mike Michalowicz

The Business Hierarchy of Needs

Inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Michalowicz introduces the Business Hierarchy of Needs (BHN), which consists of five levels: Sales, Profit, Order, Impact, and Legacy. Each level has five core needs that must be addressed before moving on to the next. This framework helps entrepreneurs prioritize their actions based on the most pressing needs of their business.

"A healthy company must first attend to the base needs of sales, profit, and order before the leadership can focus on more advanced pursuits, such as impact and legacy." - Mike Michalowicz

The BHN provides a clear path for businesses to follow, ensuring that fundamental needs are met before addressing higher-level aspirations. This approach prevents businesses from becoming overwhelmed by trying to fix everything at once and instead focuses their efforts on what will make the most significant impact.

Find It and Fix It

Michalowicz outlines a four-step process to navigate the BHN and identify the most critical need to address:

• Identify: Assess which core needs are being met and which are not at each level of the BHN.
• Pinpoint: Determine the lowest level with unmet needs and identify the most crucial one.
• Fulfill: Implement solutions to address the identified need until it is adequately met.
• Repeat: Continuously reassess and address the next most critical need.

This process ensures that businesses focus their resources on the most impactful issues, leading to sustained growth and improvement.