In late December, Reuters reported a surge in CEO turnover across the consumer
goods sector because of sluggish markets. For most of us, it was easy to skim right past
the headline. After all, it’s just more news about the effect of tariffs and the uncertainty
of shoppers, right?
Wrong. This trend is a shot over the bow for every small and mid-sized business (SMB)
CEO who’s still operating like it’s 2019. What’s hitting the top of the market today is
coming for you tomorrow—faster, harder, and without a safety net. This is a warning,
and as an SMB leader, you can’t afford to ignore the signs.
Turnover Signals Structural Failure, Not Just Strategy Flaws
When a CEO exits, we automatically think it’s about revenue. But it rarely is. It’s about
misalignment, specifically strategy not matching execution and corporate culture not
paying attention consumer culture. When board begin to see repeated breakdowns,
they respond, and the breakdowns we’re seeing now aren’t random.
Let’s look at what’s happening outside of the boardroom. We’re navigating a post-
pandemic world with outdated organizational structures in a speed-dominated market
where leaders are still slow to act. Most leadership models were built for the past, and
we are zooming into the future.
Consider this: If billion-dollar brands are being forced to change direction, it’s not
because of minor mistakes. It’s because their foundations are not fortified for the current
markets, and when these giants start wobbling, a riptide hits SMBs quickly—and often,
fatally.
The Market Doesn’t Care About Your Size
SMBs like to believe they’re insulated. They’re nimble, close to the customer, they can
pivot on a dime. All this is true, but only if you’re structurally ready. The reality is that
most SMBs are overly reliant on founder energy, they’re underinvested in systems, and
they are long overdue for strategic rewiring.
Turnover at the top reveals three significant truths that SMBs must confront:
- You may be the problem. If you’re still the linchpin for sales, delivery, and strategy,
you’re not leading—you’re bottlenecking. - You’re likely misaligned. When strategy is a slide deck instead of a daily operating
principle, teams lose focus and drift, performance slips, and eventually, your best talent
leaves. - You’re vulnerable to systemic shocks to your organization. No COO, no automation,
no scalability plan means that you are one client or one hire away from complete chaos.
And this is just the slow-motion version of what’s collapsing companies that are not
continually reviewing and critiquing the structure, optimizing, and changing with the
times.
Is This a Leading Indicator of Trouble? Yes.
We might think that CEO exits are the canary in the mine, but they are actually lagging
indicators. The underlying problems—market shifts, team fatigue, cultural
rot—happened months or even years before. And unless you’re actively scanning for
the weaknesses inside your own business, you’re likely already behind.
Public companies have boards to sound the alarm. Their shareholders demand it, but
you don’t. You are the board, the alarm, and the one who gets burned if you don’t act in
a timely fashion.
Here’s What SMB CEOs Should Do—Now
- Audit Your Strategic Clarity—If every team can’t articulate the company’s strategy
in one sentence, it’s not strategy—it’s noise. - Evaluate Your Org Chart for Scalability—If your growth depends on hiring more
people instead of doing more with better systems, you are effectively scaling
inefficiency. - Install Your No. 2—You need a president or COO yesterday. Someone who runs
operations while you, the CEO, drive growth. Without this, you’ll stay stuck in the muck
of low profits and never get above $5 million. - Productize Your Offering—Custom work doesn’t scale. You need to package your
expertise and define outcomes. Set your price for value, not time. - Build Your AI Stack—If AI isn’t saving you 20+ hours per week by now—on
proposals, reporting, or internal ops—you’re already falling behind competitors who are
using it to move faster and smarter.
What “Being Ready” Actually Means
“Ready” is not a mindset—it’s a an entire system, and the health of your business
depends on it. Here’s a to-do list for every SMB CEO who wants to remain in their
position:
- Create repeatable packages with defined outcomes.
- Delegate 80% of daily operations.
- Automate the non-human work.
- Do not rely on any one client, platform, or person.
- Look around the corners and build for what’s next, not just maintaining what you have
now.
If this is not your reality today, make it your roadmap for 2026.
SMB CEOs do not have the luxury of learning late. You either build systems that scale
under stress—or like the CEOs of Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestle, and
Lululemon, you’ll find yourself polishing your résumé before the holidays.
