Before we get started…
My partners and I just opened enrollment for business owners who want a Scalable Operating System installed before the end of the year.
Our goal is to get you unstuck and out of the "day-to-day" before the holiday craziness takes over (including the hours you spend cleaning up dropped balls…more on that in a minute), finish 2026 strong...
…and set up to make 2027 your best year ever.
Ok, onto this week's article…
“We have a process for this! Why isn’t anyone following it?!”
I have a client who’s done everything right: meetings, huddles, scorecards, SOPs, PIPs.
But his people still keep dropping the ball.
He’s even turned over half his team, and the new hires are making the exact same mistakes.
Last Friday it happened again…
Two people on his team knew the process, but neither one followed it.
(And each one blamed the other.)
So now he feels stuck: keep firing and rehiring people, or accept mediocrity?
Fortunately, there’s a better option. It’s a four-question diagnostic we call the 4Cs, and it tells you whether the problem is the person…or the system.
Here’s how it works…
The 4Cs (and Why the Order Matters)
When someone drops the ball, run it through the 4Cs in this order:
Clear: Did they know?
Conditions: Did they have what they needed?
Capable: Can they do it?
Committed: Will they do it?
Sequence matters. The first two Cs put the focus on the system (and on you, the leader). The last two put the focus on the person.
So here's the rule: Don't question someone's commitment, or even their capability, until you've fixed their clarity and conditions.
At Scalable, we solve for systems first, THEN people…because most people problems are actually systems problems.
Let's get into it…
SIDE NOTE: Integrity and values violations (lying, treating people badly) skip the 4Cs entirely. This framework is for performance gaps, not character breaches.
C #1: Clear (Did They Know?)
Start here every time, even when you're sure they knew. Ask:
Did they know it needed to be done?
Did they know it was THEIRS to own?
Did they know what "done" looks like? The standard, the deadline, and the priority.
Did they know they were falling short? Before you told them, not after.
That second question is the first place I told my client to look.
Both people knew the process, but when two people each think the other one owns it…nobody owns it.
Leader's fix: Restate the expectation, clarify who owns the task/outcome, define "done," and put it on their scorecard or in the SOP.
SIDE NOTE: Playbooks and SOPs only speak to this first C. They're great at telling people what to do, but they do nothing to make sure people have what they need to actually do it, which is why a business owner can have a shelf full of playbooks and still watch the same balls get dropped every week.
C #2: Conditions (Did They Have What They Needed?)
This is the C most leaders skip, because it's the one that points back at us. That’s why you need to ask:
Did they have the time?
Did they have the tools and the information?
Did they have the authority? Could they make the call themselves, or did they need someone who'd already gone home?
Was anything blocking them? A broken handoff, a competing priority, a lack of resources, or an unexpected bottleneck.
Now, imagine it’s 4:59 on a Friday…
The shift is ending. Everyone's halfway out the door. Following the process means staying late and making a bunch of phone calls.
Skipping it means going home.
Guess which one wins?
If critical work can be skipped when things get urgent…it WILL be skipped when things get urgent.
Leader's fix: Remove the blocker. Free up time, reset priorities, grant authority, or fix the handoff.
C #3: Capable (Can They Do It?)
Only once Clear and Conditions are fixed do you get to look at the person. Start by asking:
Do they have the skills and experience the task requires?
If not, can we train them? Or are they in the wrong seat?
Leader's fix: Train them, pair them with someone who's great at it, give them a checklist, or move them to a different seat.
And moving someone to a different seat is often the kindest call you can make.
A great frontline person can be a miserable team lead, and leaving them in the wrong seat is the fastest way to lose them in both.
C #4: Committed (Will They Do It?)
This is the C most of us jump to first, and it's the one that should come last. Ask:
Do they actually want to do it?
If not, why not?
Have a direct conversation, and open it with one line:
"Help me understand what got in the way."
No accusation. No lecture.
Then listen, because they'll often name the C before you do.
If you hear, "Honestly, I thought he had it…" or "I couldn't reach anyone who could approve it, so I figured it could wait until Monday…"
…then good news. You just found a Clear or Conditions issue you can fix (instead of firing a perfectly good employee).
But if you hear, "Yeah, I knew. I just didn't think it was that big of a deal…"
…now you've got a Committed issue.
And if the "why not" points to values or fit, that’s when it’s probably time to make a seat change.
Track the Misses (and Look for Team Patterns)
This is where the 4Cs go from fixing one person to fixing the business:
Lots of Clear misses: Leadership has a communication or documentation problem.
Lots of Conditions misses: Workload or process is broken.
Lots of Capable misses: The hiring profile or onboarding needs work.
Lots of Committed misses: There may be a culture or leadership problem.
So, back to my client…
When brand-new hires make the exact same mistakes as the people they replaced, the common denominator is the system every one of them walked into.
That's why we say, "Good people don't fix broken systems…broken systems break good people."
Firing your way out of a Conditions problem just means you get to watch a new person break the same way.
Bonus: Run the 4Cs BEFORE You Delegate
The same four checks that diagnose a miss can prevent one.
Before you hand off anything that matters, ask:
Is it clear? One owner, a definition of "done," and a deadline.
Do they have the conditions? Time, tools, information, and authority.
Are they capable? If not, who's training them?
Are they committed? Do they actually want it?
If any answer is "no" or "not sure," fix it before the handoff instead of after the miss.
⚡️ Action Step: Pick the most recent dropped ball that's still bugging you. Sit down with that person this week, open with "Help me understand what got in the way," and walk the 4Cs in order. Write down which C it landed in, and don't touch Capable or Committed until Clear and Conditions are fixed.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes…
-Ryan
Ryan Deiss
Co-Founder and CEO, The Scalable Company
P.S. Playbooks and SOPs fix the first C, but most dropped balls come from the second one, Conditions: no clear owner, no escalation path, and every urgent issue ending up on your phone.
That's exactly what a Scalable Operating System fixes.
And my partners and I just opened enrollment for business owners who want one installed before the end of the year, so you can finish 2026 strong and start 2027 with a team that catches the ball.
Quick Hits
The best of what I read, watched, and clicked this week…
📈 Growth
The five-number weekly scorecard that shows which lead source is actually paying you (Owned and Operated)
He let his team buy anything under $100 without asking, then raised prices 40% (Contrarian Thinking)
💰 Money
The hire that quietly burns the most time and money (YouTube)
One wrong line in a commission plan took his install team from four people to two (Owned and Operated)
Hourly pay, no incentives, 30% margins, and he still got it to $200K a month in 16 months (Acquiring Minds)
⚙️ Systems & Ops
What founders tell themselves so they never have to admit they are the bottleneck (LinkedIn)
The team leadership books worth your time, and the ones to skip (Instagram)
She asked for a dashboard of five numbers and got a 47-tab spreadsheet (Contrarian Thinking)
Three steps to run before you hire a COO, starting with a time study (Instagram)
🛠️ Tools & AI
Put goals, roles, metrics and playbooks in one place your team can actually find (Scalable Company Hub)
Score who is performing, who is coasting, and what to do about each one (Team Impact Toolkit)
