People in Roles, Not Just Systems

“We bought the software but nothing changed.”

I hear this constantly. Contractors invest thousands in CRM software, scheduling systems, accounting platforms — and six months later, they’re still running the business the same way they did before.

The software didn’t fail. The implementation didn’t fail.

What failed was the assumption that software replaces people. The real difference between stuck businesses and scalable ones comes down to this: people in roles, not just systems.

This chapter is the foundation for everything that follows. If you understand what I’m about to tell you, the rest of this book will make perfect sense. If you don’t, you’ll keep buying software, hiring consultants, and implementing “systems” that never produce results.

Here’s the truth that nobody wants to hear:

Systems without dedicated people to operate them are just documentation.

The Systems Myth

Let me tell you about a plumbing company I worked with.

The owner had invested in ServiceTitan — one of the best field service management platforms on the market. He’d paid for the implementation. He’d done the training. He had all the features enabled.

Two years later, his technicians were still writing estimates on paper and calling the office to check the schedule.

The software was sitting there, fully functional, completely unused.

When I asked him what went wrong, he said: “We just couldn’t get the team to use it.”

But that wasn’t the real problem.

The real problem was that he didn’t have anyone whose job was to make sure the team used it. No one woke up in the morning thinking “my primary responsibility is ensuring this CRM is working and everyone is using it correctly.”

The owner expected the software to run itself. He expected the team to figure it out. He expected that buying the system was the same as having the system.

It’s not.

Research shows that 50% of CRM implementations fail within two to three years. And that statistic only captures the obvious failures — the complete disasters where the software gets abandoned entirely. It doesn’t count the silent failures where companies technically have a CRM, but it’s half-empty, poorly maintained, and largely ignored.

The CRM vendors will tell you the failure rate is about technology problems, bad data migration, or insufficient training.

They’re wrong.

The failure rate is about one thing: no one owns the system.

Why “Everyone Does Everything” Doesn’t Scale

In most small trade businesses, job descriptions look something like this:

Office Manager: Answers phones, schedules jobs, handles billing, manages inventory, posts to social media, deals with customer complaints, and “whatever else needs to be done.”

Service Manager: Supervises technicians, runs jobs himself, handles callbacks, trains new hires, manages the shop, and “whatever else needs to be done.”

Owner: Does sales, handles big jobs, approves estimates, reviews financials, manages the office, deals with escalations, and “whatever else needs to be done.”

Everyone wears five hats. Everyone does a little of everything. It feels efficient. It feels lean.

It’s actually why you can’t scale.

Here’s the math:

If your Office Manager is doing six different jobs, they’re probably doing each one at about 60% effectiveness. Not because they’re bad at their job — because they’re stretched too thin to master any single thing.

60% effectiveness × 6 roles = 360% total capacity

But if you had three people, each doing two roles at 90% effectiveness:

90% effectiveness × 2 roles × 3 people = 540% total capacity

More focused people produce more total output than stretched people.

This is counterintuitive. It feels like having everyone do everything should be more efficient. But it’s not — because when someone does everything, nothing gets mastered. When nothing gets mastered, everything runs at partial capacity.

Dedicated People, Dedicated Jobs

Here’s the PE principle I mentioned in the last chapter, stated simply:

Every important function needs someone whose primary job is that function.

Not “among other things.” Not “when they have time.” Not “shared with three other people.”

Primary job.

Let me give you an example.

Customer satisfaction is important to every trade business. But in most small companies, who actually owns customer satisfaction?

The technicians? They’re supposed to make customers happy on every job. But is anyone measuring whether they do? Is anyone following up to ensure satisfaction? Is anyone analyzing the patterns when customers aren’t satisfied?

The office manager? They handle complaints when they come in. But are they tracking customer satisfaction metrics? Are they identifying which technicians get the most complaints? Are they working on improving the process?

The owner? They care deeply about customer satisfaction. But they’re also doing a hundred other things. Customer satisfaction improvements get put off until there’s a crisis.

When I ask trade business owners “Who specifically is responsible for customer satisfaction metrics?” most can’t give me a name.

When everyone owns something, no one owns it.

This is why PE firms, when they acquire a business, immediately start defining roles with clear accountability. They don’t add software. They add structure.

They ask: “Who owns customer satisfaction?” And they make sure there’s a name attached to that question — someone whose success is measured by customer satisfaction metrics.

The Role vs. The Person

Here’s a distinction that changes everything: define the role before you think about the person.

Most contractors hire backwards. They find someone they like, bring them on, and then figure out what they should do.

That’s how you end up with “Office Manager” doing fourteen different things poorly instead of two things excellently.

The better approach:

1. Define the role: What is this position responsible for?
2. Define the metrics: How do we know if this role is succeeding?
3. Define the authority: What decisions can this person make without asking?
4. Then find the person: Who can fill this role?

When you define the role first, you can hire anyone who fits the role. When the person leaves, you hire another person who fits the same role. The role is stable; the people rotate through it.

This is what PE firms mean by “interchangeable positions.”

It sounds cold, but it’s actually liberating — both for you and your employees.

For you: You’re not dependent on any single person. If someone leaves, the role continues.

For employees: They know exactly what’s expected. They can be trained effectively. They can be measured fairly. They can see a path to advancement.

Let me show you what a well-defined role looks like.

Example: The Customer Service Representative Role

Role Title: Customer Service Representative (CSR) / Call Taker

Reports To: Office Manager

Primary Responsibilities:

1. Answer all incoming customer calls within 3 rings
2. Schedule service appointments using the dispatch system
3. Collect customer information and job details accurately
4. Provide accurate pricing using the price book
5. Follow up on estimates that haven’t converted within 48 hours

Decision Authority (What They Can Decide Without Asking):

• Schedule any standard service call
• Offer standard discounts up to 10% for repeat customers
• Reschedule appointments within the same day
• Escalate urgent issues to Service Manager

Key Metrics:

• Call answer rate (target: 95% within 3 rings)
• Booking rate (target: 85% of qualified calls become appointments)
• Data accuracy (target: less than 2% errors in customer records)
• Follow-up completion rate (target: 100% of estimates followed up within 48 hours)

What Good Looks Like: A great CSR makes customers feel heard and valued from the first ring. They capture complete job details so technicians arrive prepared. They follow the price book consistently so margins are protected. They follow up on estimates without being asked, because they know conversions are their responsibility.

Now compare that to “handles phones and scheduling.” Which one can be trained? Which one can be measured? Which one can be improved over time?

When you define roles this clearly, several things happen:

Training becomes specific. You’re not teaching someone to “do the job” — you’re teaching them to hit specific metrics on specific tasks.

Performance becomes measurable. You can see whether someone is succeeding or struggling, and you can coach them accordingly.

Accountability becomes real. When estimates don’t convert, you know exactly who to work with. It’s not a mystery.

Clear Accountability

Let me be direct about something: “We all own customer satisfaction” is a lie.

It’s a comfortable lie. It sounds like teamwork. It sounds like everyone cares.

But functionally, it means no one is accountable.

Clear accountability requires three things:

1. A clear owner: One person whose success or failure is defined by this outcome
2. Defined metrics: Specific numbers that determine whether the outcome is being achieved
3. Decision authority: The power to make changes without asking permission

If any of these three is missing, you don’t have accountability — you have hope.

Let me show you the difference:

Vague Accountability: “The team is responsible for customer retention.”

Clear Accountability: “Sarah owns customer retention. Success means 80% of customers book a second appointment within 12 months. She has authority to approve satisfaction guarantees up to $200 and to create retention campaigns within her $500 monthly budget.”

See the difference?

With vague accountability, when retention drops, everyone shrugs. “It’s all our responsibility.” Translation: no one is specifically working to fix it.

With clear accountability, when retention drops, Sarah knows she needs to figure out why and fix it. She doesn’t need to ask permission to try things. She has a budget and decision authority. And she knows her job performance depends on hitting that 80% number.

This is what PE firms install. This is why their acquired companies improve. Not because PE firms have magic — because they have structure.

The Founder Trap Revisited

Now let’s talk about you.

If you’re like most trade business owners, you’re currently filling multiple roles:

• Chief Salesperson
• Top Technician (for the complex jobs)
• Problem Solver (for everything that goes wrong)
• Financial Reviewer
• HR Department
• Customer Complaint Escalation Point

You’re the hub that every spoke connects to.

And that’s exactly why 87% of businesses plateau between $1 million and $10 million.

The research is consistent: founders who solve every challenge themselves become the bottleneck. The business cannot grow faster than the founder can process information and make decisions.

You might be working 70 hours a week. You might be the hardest worker in the company. But if the company can’t function without you for two weeks, you don’t have a business — you have a job with employees.

Here’s a simple test: Can you take a two-week vacation without your phone?

Research shows that 85% of small business owners continue working during vacation — checking emails, taking calls, making decisions. Only 15% completely disengage.

Nearly 40% haven’t taken a full week off in a year or more.

This isn’t a vacation problem. It’s a structural problem. If you can’t step away, it means no one else can make the decisions you make. And that means your capacity is the company’s ceiling.

The E-Myth Applied to Trades

Michael Gerber’s E-Myth framework describes three personalities that every business owner must embody:

The Technician: Does the work. Knows the craft. Gets things done today.

The Manager: Designs processes. Manages people. Thinks about systems.

The Entrepreneur: Envisions the future. Sees opportunities. Thinks about growth.

In the early days of a trade business, the owner is all three — often without realizing it.

But here’s the trap: most trade business owners are Technicians first.

They started the business because they were excellent plumbers, electricians, or HVAC technicians. They love the craft. They take pride in solving technical problems. They get satisfaction from a job well done.

This is wonderful for building a reputation. It’s terrible for building a company.

The Technician’s mindset says: “If you want it done right, do it yourself.”

The Manager’s mindset says: “If you want it done right, create a process others can follow.”

The Entrepreneur’s mindset says: “If you want to grow, find people who can do it better than you.”

Most stuck contractors never make the transition from Technician to Manager. They remain the best technician in the company — which means the company can never outgrow what one excellent technician can produce.

The path forward isn’t to stop being a Technician. It’s to add the Manager and Entrepreneur personalities. To spend less time doing technical work and more time designing systems and developing people.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Let me show you the transformation.

Before: The Bottleneck Structure

Everything flows through the owner. The owner:

• Takes the important sales calls
• Handles complex technical problems
• Approves all estimates over $500
• Deals with customer complaints
• Reviews every invoice before it goes out
• Makes all hiring decisions
• Decides on equipment purchases

Result: The owner works 70 hours a week. The business plateaus. Good employees leave because they feel suffocated. The owner can’t take a vacation.

After: The People-in-Roles Structure

Dedicated people own dedicated functions:

• CSR owns call handling and booking. Metrics: answer rate, booking rate.
• Dispatcher owns schedule efficiency. Metrics: technician utilization, drive time.
• Service Manager owns technical quality and team development. Metrics: callback rate, tech performance.
• Sales/Estimator owns conversion of large projects. Metrics: close rate, average ticket.
• Bookkeeper/Office Manager owns financial accuracy and cash flow. Metrics: AR days, invoice accuracy.

The owner:

• Sets strategy and vision
• Coaches managers on improving their metrics
• Makes decisions that only the owner can make (major investments, strategic partnerships)
• Handles true escalations (not everyday problems)

Result: The owner works 50 hours a week. The business grows because capacity isn’t limited to the owner. Good employees stay because they have clear responsibilities and authority. The owner can take a vacation.

The Five Core Roles

Every trade business, before it reaches $2 million in revenue, needs these five roles filled — not necessarily five people, but five clearly defined roles with clear ownership:

1. Call Taker / CSR Owns: First customer contact, booking, follow-up Key metric: Booking rate

2. Dispatcher Owns: Schedule efficiency, technician routing Key metric: Technician utilization

3. Service Manager Owns: Technical quality, technician development Key metric: Callback rate

4. Sales / Estimator Owns: Large project conversion Key metric: Close rate

5. Bookkeeper / Office Manager Owns: Financial accuracy, AR/AP Key metric: AR days outstanding

At $500K, the owner might be filling 3-4 of these roles personally. That’s fine — but the roles should still be defined, with clear metrics, so the owner knows exactly what they’re giving up when they delegate.

At $1M, the owner should be down to 1-2 roles personally.

At $2M, the owner should be out of all five, overseeing the people who fill them.

This is the transition from Technician to Manager to Entrepreneur. This is how you break through the ceiling.

The Foundation for Everything

I told you at the start of this chapter that this is the foundation for everything that follows. Here’s why:

In Part 2, we’re going to cover the PE Playbook for trades:

• Getting customers
• Making more per customer
• Expanding margins
• Building the office machine
• Managing cash flow
• Designing the organization
• Creating value

Every single one of those chapters assumes you have people in roles.

Marketing doesn’t work without someone who owns marketing metrics. Pricing optimization doesn’t work without someone who owns pricing. Financial discipline doesn’t work without someone who owns the books.

The systems we’ll discuss are only as good as the people dedicated to operating them.

If you remember nothing else from this chapter, remember this:

Systems without dedicated people are just documentation. People without clear roles are just chaos. The combination — dedicated people doing dedicated jobs with clear accountability — is how businesses scale.