Sears built its reputation on DieHard batteries and Craftsman tools — the kind of brand a customer trusted without thinking twice. In the early 1990s, that trust started leaking out through the auto centre. The company had changed how it paid its mechanics. Commission, stacked on quotas. Sell more, earn more. The logic held up fine in a boardroom.
California's Department of Consumer Affairs ran an undercover investigation. In 34 of 37 visits, Sears staff recommended repairs the cars didn't need.
Nobody at Sears set out to defraud anyone. They built a system that rewarded finding more to fix, and every technician did exactly what the system paid them to do.
Most Leaders Think They're the Exception. The Numbers Say Otherwise
91%
rate their own judgement above average
55%
have anything like a structured process
2025 survey of 105 professionals, Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists
A Call I Didn't Second-Guess Enough
I Missed My Own Signal Once. I Built This So You Wouldn't.
I'm Darren.
I've spent three decades making calls other people had to live with.
Ten years ago, a colleague pushed hard for a pivot built on a purchased list of 30,000 email addresses. I asked one question. How did you get them. The answer was casual, and I let it go.
Seven days into the trial that list was meant to fund, four people signed up. The list had been bought. The business never recovered.
I'd asked the right question. I just didn't push when the answer came back too easy.
Darren
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