- Dan McKee
- Nov 17
- 4 min read
A Workforce in Crisis
The numbers are staggering—and getting worse. Gallup’s latest research shows that nearly 80% of employees worldwide are disengaged or actively disengaged at work, costing companies an eye-popping $8.8 trillion in lost productivity every year.
This isn’t just about job satisfaction. It’s about business survival.
A single disengaged employee can cost a company about $3,400 in lost productivity for every $10,000 in salary.
Disengaged employees have 37% higher absenteeism.
They also create 60% more errors, driving turnover, lowering quality, reducing innovation, and ultimately stunting revenue growth.
The ripple effect is a silent revenue killer—and it’s hitting harder every year.
The Hidden Revenue Killer
What most leaders don’t realize is that engagement is the multiplier for every critical business outcome. Companies with highly engaged employees see:
21% higher productivity
Up to 21% higher profitability
The inverse is equally true. Companies with disengaged workforces systematically underperform by 20%+ across every metric that matters.
In sales organizations, the crisis is especially acute. The average tenure of sales leaders and reps has dropped to just 16–18 months. That means teams are perpetually rebuilding, customer relationships are constantly resetting, and institutional knowledge walks out the door every quarter.
Companies pour millions into “better selling techniques” while ignoring the core issue: you can’t scale success when 80% of your people aren’t fully engaged—and your best performers leave every 18 months.
The Principle of Continuity
After 35 years of leading and coaching customer-facing teams, our founder identified what research now confirms: the number one revenue accelerator isn’t better selling—it’s continuity.
Continuity means:
Higher engagement that creates emotional commitment
Increased tenure that builds deep relationships and knowledge
Systematic development that compounds expertise over time
Oxford University research underscores this point: even a one-point increase in employee happiness correlates with a $1.39–$2.29 billion profit increase in large organizations.
And the data is undeniable—sellers with 24–36 months in the same company and territory consistently outperform objectively “better” sellers with only 12–18 months of tenure. Continuity creates the foundation for relationship depth, product mastery, market knowledge, and the emotional commitment that drives extraordinary results.
Continuity creates the foundation for everything else—relationship depth, product mastery, market knowledge, and the emotional commitment that drives extraordinary results. It’s also what allows growth to compound over time, rather than constantly resetting. This is the same principle behind our Accelerated Learning (Learn–Teach–Learn) framework, which shows how leaders who continuously cycle between learning, teaching, and applying knowledge build deeper capability in themselves and their teams. When continuity and accelerated learning work together, organizations create the kind of momentum that sustains high performance.
High Achiever’s Systematic Solution
At High Achiever, we address the continuity crisis through a proven, systematic approach designed to transform leadership and culture.
1. Leadership By Design (LBD): Developing Leaders Who Develop Others
The core principle: The primary role of a leader is to make great decisions—and teach others to do the same.
The 90-day LBD methodology builds compound leadership capability through:
Context-Driven Decision Making: equipping leaders to capture context at scale and apply it consistently.
Multi-Generational Mastery: adapting leadership to today’s five-generation workforce without losing first principles.
The Learn-Teach-Learn Model: leaders learn, teach, and then learn again from application—driving development across entire organizations.
The LBD methodology centers on one core principle: the primary role of a leader is to make great decisions and teach others to do the same. This idea isn’t just a framework—it’s the cornerstone of effective leadership. We explored this more deeply in our post on The Primary Role of a Leader, which unpacks why decision-making is the true measure of leadership impact and how it shapes the culture, performance, and long-term success of an organization.
2. The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Framework
Perks don’t create loyalty—mutual contribution does. High Achiever’s Six-Pillar EVP framework creates a culture of shared ownership:
Productivity & Growth
Recognition & Culture
Communication & Alignment
Resources & Support
Purpose & Mission
Wellness & Balance
Instead of surveys that collect data and go nowhere, the EVP creates ongoing conversations that close perception gaps and foster emotional commitment.
Building a “Great Place to Work” requires more than perks or surface-level benefits; it requires a culture where people feel acknowledged, supported, and connected. That’s why our Employee Value Proposition (EVP) framework emphasizes mutual contribution instead of one-sided responsibility. We break this down more fully in our post on Creating a Great Place to Work, where we show how the EVP model addresses the real drivers of engagement—communication, alignment, and shared ownership—so organizations can retain top talent and sustain performance.
3. The Sales Operating Cadence (SOC): Where It All Comes Together
The SOC is the execution engine that embeds continuity into daily operations. It creates six recurring disciplines—weekly meetings, bi-weekly forecast reviews, six-week territory reviews, monthly one-on-ones, quarterly EVP sessions, and strategic sessions—that together build context loops, accountability, and momentum.
Like Jim Collins’ “flywheel,” this cadence compounds over time—building the engagement and consistency that drive growth.
From Information to Transformation
What makes High Achiever different isn’t more information—it’s systematic implementation:
Leadership By Design builds leaders who develop others.
The EVP Framework creates emotional commitment and retention.
The SOC drives discipline and results.
The outcomes speak for themselves:
100% of clients renew beyond the initial 90 days—with many staying 5+ years.
Clients report dramatic talent retention and cultural stability.Companies unlock the 21% profitability advantage that engaged workforces deliver.
The Future: Scaling Continuity
High Achiever is evolving beyond consulting into a platform that scales transformation through certified practitioners and proven frameworks. The vision is clear:
Every leader understands their primary role is to make great decisions and develop others.
Every workplace runs on mutual contribution, not one-sided expectations.Continuity becomes the foundation of sustainable growth.
Because when organizations solve the continuity crisis, they don’t just grow revenue—they change lives. As we say:
“Poor leaders hurt people. Great leaders change lives.”
The Question for Leaders
The research is clear. The methodology is proven. The results are consistent. The only question is:
Are you ready to stop leaving millions on the table—and start building the continuity that drives lasting success?
Book your FREE 30-minute strategy session now and learn how High Achiever helps leaders create thriving cultures and accelerate revenue growth.
