I’ve always been drawn to transformation shows.

There’s something deeply satisfying about watching chaos get clarified in 42 minutes. Give me a struggling restaurant, an outdated house, or a misaligned business — and I’m hooked.

Some of my all-time favorites?

• Restaurant: Impossible with Chef Robert Irvine
• Celebrity IOU with Drew and Jonathan Scott
• The Profit with Marcus Lemonis
• And most recently, The Fixer — also featuring Marcus, doing what he does best.

There’s a rhythm to these shows that keep me in place as I watch: disaster, resistance, breakthrough, and renewal. It’s business meets therapy meets design meets leadership bootcamp — all in one emotionally charged episode.

A Little About Marcus

If you don’t know Marcus Lemonis, let me introduce you: He’s an entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of Camping World — but more than that, he’s a straight-talker who doesn’t sugarcoat the mess. His signature mantra? People. Process. Product.

And in The Fixer, Marcus takes on businesses that are barely hanging on — from struggling family operations to passion projects turned dysfunctional. He walks in, assesses the mess, confronts the emotional bottlenecks, and in a matter of days, creates a plan to get the business back on its feet.

But here’s what I’ve come to understand after years of working with real organizations and real people:

What happens on TV is the highlight reel.
Real-life transformation takes time. It takes follow-through. And it takes more than a pep talk and remodel.

What It Takes to Pull Off a TV Turnaround (in One Episode)

You might think these turnarounds are spontaneous magic. They’re not. They’re carefully designed, condensed interventions built for story, stakes, and emotional payoff.

Here’s what’s really happening behind the scenes:

Pre-Production Scouting

Before cameras roll, producers already know:

• The core issues holding the business back
• The personalities that will drive drama or redemption
• The “fixes” that will be feasible and visually compelling

One Main Constraint or Villain

The show zeroes in on one glaring problem:

• A resistant owner
• A toxic team member
• An outdated menu or space
• A missing system or process

This simplifies the complexity — which makes for great TV, but not necessarily real sustainability.

Visible, Tangible Fixes

These turnarounds are made to show change:

• A new logo or website
• A redesigned floor plan
• A restructured offer or pricing model
• An emotional team talk with tears and hugs

Fake Urgency Creates Real Drama

Time pressure adds tension:

We’ve got 48 hours before the relaunch…
if we don’t get the signage up by tonight, we’re done.

It’s manufactured — but it keeps the pace high.

Emotional Payoff is Everything

• Owner has a breakthrough moment.
• Staff get a second chance.
• The community shows up.
• Everyone breathes again.

And cut to credits.

What Happens in the Real World?

Let me tell you what I’ve learned from doing actual business alignment work with leaders and teams.

The real process looks like this:

TV Turnaround	IRL Turnaround
Redesign the menu	Rethink the entire offer, pricing, and delivery model
Fire the problematic employee	Understand what the role actually requires — then align
Redecorate and relaunch	Rebuild trust, capacity, and accountability structures
One team talk	Several hard conversations + new agreements
One emotional breakdown	Many moments of doubt, realization, recommitment

My work is definitely not recorded for television. There’s no big reveal.
But there’s lasting clarity, grounded decision-making, and aligned action. I get underneath the noise to fix what actually matters — whether it’s a misaligned leadership team, a leaking retention system, or a founder who hasn’t exhaled in two years.

Together, we work through resistance, untangle what’s personal from what’s structural, realign people to roles, and the business to its vision. And rebuild from there.

And Yet…

I still love the TV turnaround. The drama. The edits. That moment when a business owner sees their business — and themselves — with fresh eyes.

But if you’re in the real version right now — tired, overwhelmed, unclear about what to do next — you don’t need a film crew. You need clarity. And a simple, customized plan for what will work for you.

Let’s Start With a Clarity Conversation

• If your business is growing — but it doesn’t feel good…
• If you’ve done “all the things” but something still feels off…
• If you’re craving a real turnaround — not just for your team or operations, but for you…

Let’s talk. Book your Clarity Conversation here.