Why Your $300K in Consulting Fees Didn't Fix Your Company (Spoiler: You're the Problem)

So I just got off a call with Markus Neukom, this guy calls himself a "legacy alchemist" which honestly sounds like something a D&D character would put on LinkedIn, but stick with me here because he absolutely dragged me (and probably you) through the mud in the best possible way.

The Part Where You Realize You've Been Throwing Money Into a Dumpster Fire

Here's what Markus told me that made me physically uncomfortable: You've hired the accountant. You've hired the BD person. You've hired the sales guru. You've probably even hired that coach who told you to wake up at 5 AM and journal about your feelings.

And your company? Still stuck.

Know why?

Because you're the bottleneck, my friend.

Yeah, I said it. And Markus said it better: "The bottleneck is almost always the owner or founder, the person at the helm."

That dream you had when you started? That rocket ship you were building? You've been launching it over and over, and each time it gets a little less high because the sun got too hot and you started shrinking back to base. Now you're just sitting there saying "it's as good as it gets" while secretly knowing you've given up.

Ouch. But also... yeah.

The Imposter Syndrome Trap (Or: How We All Got Scammed)

Here's where it gets wild. Markus basically said imposter syndrome isn't even the real problem, it's a symptom. It's your brain's way of disguising something deeper.

The actual issue? You have no f*cking clue who you really are.

And I don't mean in a woo-woo, find-yourself-in-Bali kind of way. I mean you've built your entire identity on what OTHER PEOPLE have told you about yourself. You're running a company based on someone else's mirrored reflection of you that you never even questioned.

Want proof? Quick, name three of your real strengths right now.

...

Taking a while, huh? But I bet you could rattle off your weaknesses in 30 seconds flat.

That's the problem right there. That's why you're stuck. That's why the scaling strategies aren't working. You can't build authentic client connections when you're not even authentic with yourself.

The Part Where Discomfort Becomes Your Best Friend

Markus dropped this metaphor that legitimately changed how I think about growth:

Imposter syndrome shows up when you're getting close to the sun, when you're about to do something that actually matters. Most people see that heat and turn back. They think it's a warning sign.

But it's not.

It's a compliment from life telling you what you're about to do is worth it.

Your brain is designed to keep you alive, not help you build an empire. So when you step outside your comfort zone, it freaks the hell out and screams "WE'RE GONNA DIE" even though you're literally just posting on LinkedIn or having a difficult conversation with a stakeholder.

Here's the truth bomb: If you're comfortable, you're not growing. If you're not feeling that burn, you're not pushing toward your actual potential. You're just maintaining.

And maintaining is how you lose in today's market.

The Hiring Trap Nobody Talks About

Oh, and this one hit different: You think hiring is a God-given talent you naturally have?

Spoiler: It's not.

Markus said it's an art form you have to learn. Same with retention. Same with building high-retention client relationships. Same with stakeholder-focused communication.

You can't keep people if you don't understand human beings. And you can't understand human beings if you don't understand yourself first.

Full circle, baby.

So What Do You Actually Do About This?

Look, I'm not gonna pretend I have all the answers after one conversation. But here's what Markus made crystal clear:

1. Stop outsourcing the internal work. Your fractional CMO can't fix your self-doubt. Your RevOps consultant can't fix your authenticity struggle.

2. Rekindle that original dream. Remember why you started this thing? Before the board meetings and the burn rate anxiety? Go back there.

3. Embrace the discomfort. That feeling of "oh shaet this is scary"? That's the sign you're on the right path. Lean into it.

4. Know thyself. (Yes, I'm quoting ancient philosophy in a blog post. We contain multitudes.)

The reality is this: Building unshakeable business relationships starts with having an unshakeable relationship with yourself. All the client success strategies in the world won't help if you're running on a foundation of self-doubt and borrowed identity.

And that's the human connection nobody wants to talk about, the one with yourself.

Watch the full episode because Markus goes way deeper on all this, including a psychological trick for actually identifying your real strengths (it's sneaky good), why most leaders have "given up" without even realizing it, and how to break through that invisible ceiling above your head.

Fair warning: It might make you uncomfortable. Good. That means it's working.

P.S. If you just spent $300K on consultants and you're STILL stuck, you don't need another consultant. You need to do the internal work. And yeah, that sucks to hear. But you know I'm right. Stop running from the sun. The burn means you're getting somewhere.

Now go watch the episode and stop lying to yourself about why your company isn't where you thought it'd be.

🎧 [Link to episode]

Karl Pontau hosts The Human Connection Podcast, where we talk about the stuff that actually matters in business: the humans running it. Because whether you're B2B or B2C, it's really H2H, human to human. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode where we probably say something that'll make your HR department uncomfortable.