Why most companies are 1 burnout away from collapse

Every successful company has a secret weapon.

It's not their product… Not their market fit… Not their funding…

It's their pusher.

The relentless force who cranks up the heat every single day. The one who spots fires before they start. The one who makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.

In 99% of cases, it's a co-founder.

Solo founders? The weight sits entirely on their shoulders.

I've spent the last decade working with hundreds of founders. I've seen spectacular successes and devastating failures, but the pattern has always been the same.

Companies with strong pushers thrive. Companies without them die. Simple as that.

Let me break down exactly what happens when a company loses its pusher:

First, the small things slip:

• Meetings start running long

• Decisions take longer to make

• Follow-through becomes inconsistent

• The energy in Slack channels drops

Then, the medium things:

• Product innovation slows

• Marketing campaigns get delayed

• Sales targets get missed

• Customer feedback goes unaddressed

Finally, the big things crash:

• Product innovation completely stops

• Lead flow dries up

• Sales halt entirely

• Churn skyrockets

• Top performers start leaving

The energy that once filled your office? Gone.

The momentum that drove your growth? Dead.

The excitement that made work feel like play? Vanished.

Here's what makes the pusher role so critical: They're the free safety of business.

Always scanning. Always moving. Always running toward whatever's broken, big, or new.

They're the first ones in Slack each morning, the last ones closing tickets at night, the voice in every important meeting, and the names in every crucial email thread.

It's a thankless position. Brutally demanding. Perpetually exhausting.

That's precisely why founders usually fill this role. They have the rare combination of boundless energy and skin in the game, making them care more deeply than anyone else.

Finding a non-founder who can match this intensity? It's like finding a unicorn that also knows how to code. When you do find one, move heaven and earth to keep them.

The dark reality is that most companies are one resignation away from stagnation, one burnout away from decline, and one pusher away from collapse.

I see it happen every single month:

A high-growth startup loses its COO, a profitable agency loses its founder, and a promising tech company loses its VP of Product.

Within 90 days, the signs of decay are unmistakable.

Within 180 days, the company is unrecognizable.

Within a year, it is either acquired at a discount or shut down entirely.

But here's the thing about pusher energy - it doesn't have to come from a single person.

We've spent years studying how successful companies maintain their pusher energy without burning out. We've analyzed hundreds of high-growth companies. We've identified the systems, processes, and frameworks that allow companies to institutionalize their pusher energy.

We've distilled these insights into something powerful:

A free, customized 2025 growth marketing plan that systematizes momentum.

No more relying on superhuman effort.

No more single points of failure.

No more living or dying based on one person's energy levels.

This isn't just another marketing plan.

It's a complete system for building pusher energy into your company's DNA. It's a framework for maintaining momentum without burnout. It's a roadmap for sustainable, predictable growth.

→ Click Here to Request Your Free 2025 Growth Plan

To relentless progress,
Eric Siu

P.S. The best time to systematize growth was yesterday. The second best time is now.