The Playbook by SMBootcamp

This week, we’re shifting focus from dealmaking to what happens after the acquisition. This is a great how-to for actually leading a team. Trust is the foundation of every small business, yet it’s often relegated by first-time operators behind the spreadsheets and elaborate growth-plans. But to accomplish great growth plans and implement your company vision, you must have trust and buy-in from your team. Without trust, no amount of systems, spreadsheets, or SOPs can save you.

To unpack this, we turned to Josh Schultz, a CEO/COO who has led companies up to $200M in revenue and now writes SMB Blueprint, a newsletter dedicated to practical, real-world operating advice. Josh shares the exact frameworks he’s used to build trust with teams, reduce inefficiencies, and turn employees into believers in the vision.

His newsletter, SMB Blueprint, dives deeper into these kinds of tactical, operator-first lessons. While we at SMBootcamp often focus on the deal portion of small business, it is only the beginning of the journey— and arguably the less important of the two. That to say, we would highly recommend checking Josh’s newsletter out if you’re looking to sharpen your operating skillset. And, of course, if you enjoyed this, please consider sharing this SMBootcamp newsletter with a friend.

We’re also excited to announce that enrollment for our October and December LIVE cohorts is open. These cohorts offer a hands-on opportunity to master small business acquisitions the right way. Seats are limited: secure your spot today!

The Trust Equation: How to Build Teams That Perform Without You

Your team doesn't trust you as much as you think they do. And it's killing your goals, your daily operations, and maybe even your health.

Trust and respect are the bedrock for any team or company to perform at a high level. They're what enable everyone to work together without watching their backs, getting offended, fighting over the next move, or playing politics. All energy gets focused on executing the mission.

When problems explode into crises before they reach you, when your team performs worse without you around, when nobody disagrees in meetings but everyone gripes in the parking lot, you have a trust problem. But hopefully after reading this, you’re well equipped to deal with your existing trust problem, or head-off any trust problem before you arrive at the blow-up.

I learned this the hard way after taking over a struggling distribution company and going full dictator-mode. "People just want to be told what to do," I thought. We made easily avoidable mistakes, lost trust, had massive turnover, and nearly lost the facility.

But through the process of going dictator-mode, I discovered something counterintuitive: The more trust you build, the fewer systems you need. The less trust you have, the more SOPs, audits, and micromanagement your team requires.

When I changed my approach with the next company (doing nothing but adding a daily huddle and weekly meeting focused on trust— more on what this means below) we 3x'd revenue and 6x'd cash flow in one year. Same team. Same market, but with an entirely different leadership approach.

Here's the framework I used, and what I continue to use today.

Part 1: The Three-Pillar Trust Assessment

Your team doesn't trust you as much as you think they do. And it's killing your goals, your daily operations, and maybe even your health.

Trust and respect are the bedrock for any team or company to perform at a high level. They're what enable everyone to work together without watching their backs, getting offended, fighting over the next move, or playing politics. All energy gets focused on executing the mission.

When problems explode into crises before they reach you, when your team performs worse without you around, when nobody disagrees in meetings but everyone gripes in the parking lot, you have a trust problem. But hopefully after reading this, you’re well equipped to deal with your existing trust problem, or head-off any trust problem before you arrive at the blow-up.

I learned this the hard way after taking over a struggling distribution company and going full dictator-mode. "People just want to be told what to do," I thought. We made easily avoidable mistakes, lost trust, had massive turnover, and nearly lost the facility.

But through the process of going dictator-mode, I discovered something counterintuitive: The more trust you build, the fewer systems you need. The less trust you have, the more SOPs, audits, and micromanagement your team requires.

When I changed my approach with the next company (doing nothing but adding a daily huddle and weekly meeting focused on trust— more on what this means below) we 3x'd revenue and 6x'd cash flow in one year. Same team. Same market, but with an entirely different leadership approach.

Here's the framework I used, and what I continue to use today.

Competence Check:

• [ ] Your team knows you understand their actual job

• [ ] You've delivered on 3+ promises in the last month

• [ ] You ask for their expertise regularly

• [ ] You share wins and metrics weekly

• [ ] You communicate changes weeks in advance

Character Check:

• [ ] You've admitted being wrong in front of the team this month

• [ ] Everyone knows your decision-making framework

• [ ] You explain the "why" behind every decision

• [ ] Your rules apply equally to everyone

• [ ] You back your team publicly, always

Care Check:

• [ ] You know each person's family situation

• [ ] You remember and follow up on personal issues

• [ ] You ask for opinions before making changes

• [ ] Your one-on-ones focus on them, not tasks

• [ ] You've defended them against unreasonable customers

Scoring: If your scored under 7 in any category? That should be your starting point on building the three pillars of trust within your organization.

Part 2: The Monday Morning Trust-Building Playbook

I used to hate leadership advice. It was too mushy, to hard to pinpoint. I didn’t know what I was actually suppose to go do!

• "Be a servant leader"

• "Create psychological safety"

• "Build trust"

Great— but what the hell do I actually DO on Monday morning? There was a lack of practical advice related to building trust with teams, and it was often left to buzzwords and feel-good statements.

I was so frustrated that when I got to spend a day with a CEO who runs a pretty large company (think ~150 employees), I asked him: "You talk a lot about leadership.  I would love to know what I can go do Monday morning that is “leadership”. Give me something concrete I can actually do, not this fluffy 'treat people well' stuff."

So he decided to give me something that he found worked. And the best part is, these weren't revolutionary ideas. They were embarrassingly simple. But they were concrete things I could walk in and do the next day. And when I started using them, everything changed for my organization. They started to buy-in to the culture that I was trying to build. The same team that was falling apart under my dictatorial style suddenly started innovating, problem-solving, and executing without me having to hover over them. It was the best thing that could’ve happened.

Let’s review some of these ways to show our team competence, character, and care.

Week 1: Quick Wins Strategy

Quick wins are perhaps the easiest way to build trust with your team, especially after an acquisition. They prove that you care, that you’re competent, and following through proves your character. So next team meeting, start with this exact question: "What are some small things that have been bothering you lately?"

Common answers you'll get:

• Equipment issues ("Our iPads are Wi-Fi only")

• Process frustrations ("The morning checklist takes forever")

• Resource problems ("We never have enough X")

What you need to do after: Pick the easiest 2-3 and solve them THIS WEEK. Don't delegate. Don't committee it. Just fix it.

Why it works: You find a couple areas where you're showing them: I know the business, I know what you need, I'm going to take care of it.

It’s a great way to build trust with your team, and it’s quick and cost-effective.

Week 2: The "I Was Wrong" Campaign

Find something you got wrong recently. In your daily huddle, say exactly this:

"I thought [X] was going to work, and I was wrong. We tried it, and here's what actually happened: [Y]. So I'm undoing this and we'll figure out something new."

What happens next:

• First time: Shocked silence

• Second time: Nervous laughter

• Third time: Someone else admits a mistake

• Fourth time: Culture shift begins

The psychology behind this: It allows them to be wrong too. Like, okay, he said he was wrong. That means I can say I'm wrong. And that means we can try some stuff now.

The key there is experimentation being ok, and even encouraged. It allows employees to “test” better, more efficient ways to do their job. That’s when your team really starts to run without you.

Week 3: Early Communication Protocol

Pick one change you're considering, preferably a sticky one (bonus change, PTO methodology adjustment, new hours). Start talking about it now, even though you won't implement for 3-4 weeks:

• Week 1: "Hey team, I'm thinking about our billing process. What bugs you about it?"

• Week 2: "Remember that billing thing? I have a couple ideas. What do you think about X?"

• Week 3: "Based on your feedback, here's what I'm thinking..."

• Week 4: Implementation with zero resistance

Why it works: By the time we make the change, it's been communicated, they've had time, we've discussed it.

The key here is that you brought them in to the decision, they feel part of what you are building together… you are building trust.

Part 3: The Daily Trust Rituals

Most companies have a morning huddle before getting started with the day, and I think that’s a great way to layout the day ahead. But it’s important to use that time to “listen” to your team, not just “tell” your team what they’re doing today. I’ve developed this Morning Huddle Format to build trust with my team, and it’s proven very effective at many different businesses.

Morning Huddle Format (10 minutes):

1. Personal check-in (2 min): "How's everyone doing?" (Actually listen)

2. Transparency moment (3 min): Share one business metric or decision

3. Problem preview (3 min): "We're thinking about changing X..."

4. Win celebration (2 min): Highlight someone's success

The Competence-Building Question:

Competence and expertise in a craft isn’t something you can build over a month (hell, a year), but you can take actionable steps towards proving competence with your team by learning through their expertise. So I’d suggest once per week, ask someone to teach you something: "Thomas, can you walk me through how we inspect these spring washers? I don't quite understand it."

Why it works: For some reason, when you ask somebody under you to explain something, they perceive you as more competent—even if you’re just learning. You are also showing that you care about them, their job, and their perspective. It’s a win-win across the board.

The Values Reinforcement Technique:

When someone asks you for a decision, walk through your framework out loud – Every Single Time:

Here is an example framework based on principles from one company consisting of 1) Do right by the customer, 2) Do a top 1% job, 3) Protect our long term profitability, 4) Protect our company brand and reputation.

1. "Did we mess something up?"

2. "Did we do a top 1% job?"

3. "Will this protect long-term profitability?"

4. "Will this protect our reputation?"

This helps them see that values are lived out. By repeating and walking through this process, out load, continually, it drills in not only the values, but proves you are a person of character. When they see you treat customers correctly, they know you’ll treat them correctly.

Part 4: The Trust Scorecard (Check Weekly)

Now trust-building isn’t something you can quantify with numbers. Of course, the more trust the team places in you, the better your P&L will look, but trust itself can’t be quantified. So here’s a few “green flags” to look for when you're building trust:

Green Flags:

• Problems come to you at 20% severity, not 80%

• People disagree respectfully in meetings

• Information flows up without prompting

• Team performs identically when you're absent

• People ask for your advice on work AND personal issues

Red Flags:

• Only hearing about fires, not smoke

• Silent meetings, loud parking lots

• You have to ask for updates constantly

• Performance drops when you're gone

• Nobody asks for help

Part 5: The High-Performance Conversion

Once the basics of trust are established (usually 60-90 days), there’s a few advanced moves I’d recommend implementing. These help amplify the outcomes of trust, allowing you to operate at maximum efficiency, capacity, and drive sustainable growth.

The Round Table Leadership Structure:

• Each person owns their area completely

• You discuss but never override

• Public commitment to team decisions

• Healthy conflict becomes mandatory

How to pitch this: "This is your area. I might share my thoughts, but you make the call. We'll all execute your decision as if it was ours.”

This doesn’t relieve them of responsibility for outcomes, or accountability to others… it actually increases it. They feel the weight, they know they have to fix it if it goes wrong. This both changes how they make decisions, as well as allows them to exercise some authority at the point of action and information.

The Growth Plan Template:

For each key person, create a one-page document (I like to update these annual, and discuss progress monthly):

Your Role:

• Purpose: [One sentence mission]

• Responsibilities: [5-7 bullets]

• Success metrics: [3 numbers]

Where You Need to Grow:

• Month 1: [Specific skill + action]

• Month 3: [Specific skill + action]

• Month 6: [Specific skill + action]

Resources:

• Books: [List 3]

• Training: [List opportunities]

• Support: "Tell me what you need to succeed"

The Care Investment:

Track these for each team member:

• Spouse/partner name

• Kids' names and ages

• Current personal challenge

• Professional aspiration

• Last time you asked about above

Do 3-minute check-ins: "Hey, how did your wife's surgery go?" before "How's that project?"

How do you know all of this is working?

You'll know it's working when:

• Revenue grows without new systems

• You can be gone for a week without checking in

• Ideas flow up, not just down

• Turnover drops below 10%

• Team solves problems without you

Here is the ultimate proof

The team I worked with in Fort Wayne, IN— I was only there once a month. There was literally zero difference in any of the 40 numbers we measure when I'm there and not there.

Your Next Action

So for the operators out there looking to improve, tomorrow morning, walk in and ask: "What small things have been bothering you that we could fix this week?"

Then actually fix them.

That's where trust begins. Everything else, the revenue, the performance, the culture, compounds from there.

Trust comes from clarity and knowing you're on their side. The more trust and respect you have, the less organizational complexity you need.

Thank You!

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If you're ready to take your acquisition journey further, check out our programs below. We've designed them specifically to give you actionable, real-world frameworks and support to successfully buy and grow your own small business.