https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/structure-everything-thomas-sauvageau-uzu1c/
Kerry: Last month, Tom and I talked about investing in our community and why Chamber involvement matters far beyond a line item on a budget. This month, we’re staying grounded in business fundamentals, but tackling something that quietly makes or breaks companies. Structure.
Not the stiff, corporate kind. The kind that determines whether a business feels steady and manageable, or chaotic and exhausting.
Because here’s what I hear all the time from business owners. “We’re busy. We’re growing. We’re working hard. And somehow, everything still feels heavier than it should.”
Tom: That’s usually my cue to start asking questions about accountability.
One of the first places I look when trying to help a business improve is how clearly a specific task can be tied to a specific person. And just as important, whether everyone in the business knows who they are accountable to or accountable for.
When that’s unclear, businesses tend to flounder. Tasks start to feel like “someone else’s problem.” Things fall through the cracks. And there’s never a real guarantee that what needs to get done actually will.
Almost every time, the issue comes back to structure.
Kerry: And that’s such an important distinction. Most people assume the problem is effort or commitment, when what’s really missing is clarity.
Tom: Exactly. First, for any specific task, there can only be one person who is ultimately accountable.
That doesn’t mean only one person works on the task. Take accounting as an example. You might have multiple people touching different parts of the accounting process. But in the end, one person needs to be accountable for making sure it’s done correctly.
If something’s off, that one person owns fixing it. And because they know the responsibility rests with them, they naturally make sure everyone else involved is doing their part.
That’s what drives accountability.
Kerry: Without that clarity, everyone assumes someone else has it handled.
Tom: Exactly. Shared responsibility without a clear owner almost always leads to dropped balls.
Next, every business has three core roles that must be covered. Operations. Finance. Marketing and sales.
Your business might structure these differently, and in small businesses one person often covers more than one role. But all three functions must exist, or the business will struggle.
If you’re strong in marketing and sales and strong in operations, but weak in finance, eventually cash management, pricing, taxes, or cost control will catch up with you.
If you’re strong in operations and finance but weak in marketing or sales, you’ll eventually have people standing around with nothing to do because customers aren’t coming in.
And if you’re strong in marketing and finance but weak in operations, customers will come in and go right back out the door because the product or service isn’t delivered well.
You must have all three. There’s no way around it.
Kerry: This is where a lot of heads start nodding.
Tom: Once those three roles are identified, there’s typically one person responsible for making sure all three are functioning properly. We usually think of that person as the owner, general manager, or CEO.
From there, every other role in the business fits underneath that structure. And I mean everyone. Anyone who touches any part of what you do should be clearly defined, with specific responsibilities and a clear line of accountability showing who they report to and, if applicable, who reports to them.
Kerry: And this is usually where someone says, “That all makes sense, but we’re small.”
Tom: Which is exactly why this works so well for small business.
In small businesses, one person often wears a lot of hats. That’s normal. Just because there can only be one person accountable for a specific task doesn’t mean that person can’t show up in multiple areas of the business.
What matters is that the roles are clearly defined. The most important tasks for each role are spelled out. And there is a clear line of accountability for who owns what.
When businesses do this, things start to feel different. Decisions get made faster. Issues get addressed sooner. People stop stepping on each other or assuming someone else has it handled.
For my businesses, I use a simple tool I call an accountability chart. It shows how all of this fits together. Who owns operations. Who owns finance. Who drives marketing and sales. And how every other role connects underneath that structure.
You can take these same core assumptions and adapt them to fit your own business, even a very small one.
When structure is right, accountability follows. And when accountability is strong, businesses don’t just run better. They grow better.
Kerry: YES! Businesses don’t struggle because people don’t care. They struggle because everything lives in their head and nowhere else. I get that, and I see it all the time.
Tom: Exactly. Structure isn’t about control. It’s about alignment. And alignment is what allows a business to scale without everything breaking along the way.
Kerry: If this month’s Business Banter sparked a few “oh wow, that’s us” moments, take that as a win. Structure doesn’t require a full overhaul or a fancy org chart. It starts with clarity. One task. One owner. Clear roles. Clear expectations.
Tom will tell you this is one of the most powerful shifts a business can make. I’ll tell you it’s one of the most freeing.
Get the structure right, and everything else starts to feel lighter. And that’s a win worth chasing.