Eric Siu's agency Single Grain lost $1.5 million when a trusted employee orchestrated client poaching and staff resignations. Siu takes responsibility for poor oversight and delegating without checking in, then rebuilds using value-based hiring, frequent communication, and what he calls "inspect what you expect."
This is a story of how I managed to lose $1.5 million. A while back, I was running my agency Single Grain, and I was juggling acquisition. Nothing was bad, but I was stretched thin, assuming that the systems would catch up. Then on a Monday, a trusted team member took urgent leave. Someone resigned, and then another. Week after week, quiet exits. And then a lawyer calls a week after that. I learned someone was poaching not only our people, But our clients. That's when it hit me. You gotta trust your gut when it comes to people. I handed over the keys and I stopped checking the dashboard. I didn't delegate. I completely abdicated, and that's completely on me. So I rebuilt from scratch, and that meant value-based hiring. That meant communicating with my team much more frequently, being very involved, being very focused, and not having multiple bets, focusing all in on one single bet. Today we're tighter, faster, and harder to shake. I still delegate, but I inspect what I expect. If this ever happens to you, remember, just own it, learn fast, and come back stronger. Follow, because it's cheaper than losing $1.5 million.
