Fix This Next: Pinpoint and Solve Your Company's Biggest Problem

by Mike Michalowicz

From Mike Michalowicz, the author of PROFIT FIRST, CLOCKWORK, and THE PUMPKIN PLAN, comes the ultimate diagnostic tool for every entrepreneur.

The biggest problem facing entrepreneurs is that they don't know what their biggest problem is. If you find yourself trapped between stagnating sales, staff turnover, and unhappy customers, what do you do first? Every problem seems urgent -- but there's no way to address all of them at once. The usual result: a business that continues to go in endless circles putting out urgent fires or prioritizing the wrong things.

Fortunately, Mike Michalowicz has a simple system to help you eradicate these frustrations and get your business moving forward, fast. Mike himself has lived through the struggles and self-doubt of a stagnating business. He figured out that every business has a hierarchy of needs, and if you can understand where you are in that hierarchy, you can identify what needs immediate attention. Simply fix that one thing next, and your business will naturally and effortlessly level-up.

Over the past decade, Mike has developed an ardent following for his funny, honest, and actionable insights told through the stories of real entrepreneurs. Now Fix This Next offers a simple, unique, and wildly powerful business compass that has already helped hundreds of companies get to the next level, and will do the same for you. Immediately.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Entrepreneurship, Audiobook, Buisness, Leadership, Management

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2020

Reviews

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книга для малого бизнеса. Хорошая постановка вопроса - как понять, на чем сфокусироваться в данный момент. Предложенное разбиение на стадии развития бизнеса кажется выдуманным из головы. Какие-то полезные мысли при прочтении все же возникли, хоть с книгой, напрямую и не связаны

[Hope Helms · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of this book compared to his others. I do think his methodology on quickly identifying what needs to be addressed next can be helpful but more for those who are not used to having to make a small business “work”. If you have an understanding of basic business fundamentals and how/when to implement them you can skip this book.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great overview of the stages of building a business--his version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs for businesses. In one way, it's a restatement of what many others have said in that the individual elements aren't new. But the big insight of the book is to stack rank them, so that you can know to fix this problem before fixing that problem. For example, if you don't have enough sales then fix that before you get better internal efficiency. Or, maybe less obvious, if you don't have strong profit margins, fix that before you invest in more staff (because then you'll just slide into doing even more low profit activity).

Good read for business owners and those who consult to business owners.

[Sarai Mitnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely helpful framework for prioritizing issues within your business. I know I will return to this book again and again when I feel overwhelmed with all the fires I need to put out every week.

[Aaron Mikulsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michalowicz discusses the Business Hierarchy of Needs. In 1943, Abraham Maslow identified what has now become known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s theory states that there are five categories of human need: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. In order for us to attend to something higher on the list, we first need to make sure that our needs are met in the categories below it. So, for example, before you can focus on meeting your needs for love and belonging, you first need the basics: air to breathe, adequate hydration and nutrition, and a safe place to sleep. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has a direct correlation to entrepreneurial progress. A healthy company must first attend to the base needs of sales, profit, and order before the leadership (you) can focus on more advanced pursuits, such as impact and legacy.

The key to climbing the hierarchy is simple: Fully satisfy your business’s current level of needs, not by rushing to the apparent daily demands, not by addressing advanced needs before basic needs, and certainly not by trying to fix everything at once. To do this, use the Business Hierarchy of Needs (BHN): Sales, Profit, Order, Impact, and Legacy. There are five core needs for each of these five.

I enjoyed the section on impact the best do here is my interesting take-away from it:

Transformation with Impact (first get, then give): With all of your five basic needs at the IMPACT level satisfied, price is a secondary consideration for your clients. They are no longer asking, “Is this the best deal?” They are asking, “How can I be part of this?” Their consideration becomes more about the movement or meaning than merely consumption. At the IMPACT level, you build brand loyalists, ambassadors, and lifelong members, because your company is on a mission for a greater good.

Need 1. Transformation Orientation: Does your business benefit clients through a transformation beyond the transaction? The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine, has eight tables and one seating per night. This means they can serve about 45 customers—for dinner. No second or third locations. No breakfast, no lunch, and no Sunday brunch. No happy hour. No line out the door. They are only open nine months out of the year. Only eight tables and one seating, and the Lost Kitchen is a remarkable, if not magical, success. In fact, despite their remote location, theirs is one of the hardest reservations to get in the country. After losing her diner and her home in a divorce, chef and owner Erin French opened her farm-to-table restaurant with the intention of providing more than a meal for her customers, whom she considers guests. She wanted to create a dinner-party experience in keeping with the pace, values, and ideals of her community. And she wanted a restaurant that freed her from the typical grind most chefs endured without question. Shortly after opening the Lost Kitchen, they received international acclaim. French received three coveted James Beard nominations and published her first book.

Need 2. Mission Motivation. Are all employees (including leadership) motivated more by delivering on the mission than by their individual roles? Once you realize your mission is your song, you and the people who choose to work with you will be able to quickly pick out the melodies that move them. Your mission is your melody. Identify one that connects with your soul, and start singing.

Need 3. Dream Alignment. Are people’s individual dreams aligned with the path of the business’s grand vision? When your employee’s job is designed to align with their personal goals and dreams, they will perform better for you and they will stick around. This is because you are making an impact on their lives that goes beyond a paycheck and health insurance. You are helping them create the lifestyle they want to live and become the person they want to be. You are putting them first, and as a result they put you first.

[Dharmala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fix this next is hierarchical progression of all the stages you need to identify within your business. Consider this to be your grassroots information that gives you a starting point for your immediate business need. sales->profit-> efficiency-> impact->legacy. Most small business are in the one of these phases and unable to identify the immediate critical phase. Don't get this book wrong, it is no way a systems book trying to help you grow. It will help you identify the next need and then you may dig deep, to improve that phase.

This book leaves the reader wanted in terms of execution and that will pull you into Mike's ecosystem of his other services. If you are unable to figure how to solve then his coaching can help you with his coaching/execution part of business. His services provide the accountability that this book lacks.(that might be his business plan). And if you feel like this is not specific enough for your industry he will come up with a industry specific version ( inference from his previous work).

This book does not tell you how to improve sales or improve profit or efficiency. That has to be found in other books. You may also find these in Mike's other books. In other words this is an index of his work as an author. FTN gives you the focus- "the one thing". I would definitely recommend reading this but don't stop there. Reading further and implementing some of the specific work that other great authors have to offer will benefit you immensely.

I don't expect Mike to breakdown every step but this book lacks the references where you may find the skills to acquire this. Some go to references would have been nice but here is my list - sales ( Ultimate sales machine -Chet Holmes; Sales Management Simplified - Mike Weinberg) Profit ( Simple Numbers - Greg Crabtree; Profit First - Mike Michalowicz) Efficiency ( EOS / Traction -Gino Wickman; Scaling up - Verne Harnish; Topgrading- Bradford Smart) Impact (What you do is who you are - Ben Horowitz) Legacy ( green giants -Freya Williams).

[Jessica Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the idea, the business version of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. And the evaluation tools, I can see how those could really help you narrow down what to "fix next."

But the book was... eh, it was fine. Kind of annoying to read, and I didn't really feel like I got more with every chapter, it was just more of the same.

So def learn more about the idea, but maybe skip the book and just read a summary article or a watch a YouTube video. Here are the worksheets, these alone might be enough:
• Fix This Now 1-Sheet
• Evaulation Questions

[Nina Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Instead of doing little bits of everything, what is the one thing I should fix next to move the business forward?"
Mike Michalowicz answers precisely that question in this excellent business book for entrepreneurs.
By using a Business Hierarchy of Needs system, Mike has created a logical and practical method of assessing the gaps in the health of your business, so that you can fix each challenge in an ordered sequence.
The foundation level of this five level pyramid starts with the most fundamental need of any business - SALES then moves up to the next stages of PROFIT then ORDER before addressing how any business can create IMPACT and then LEGACY.
But none of that is possible until you address the foundation of any business - SALES.
By looking at the Vital Needs at every stage, this is one of the few books for entrepreneurs that addresses the challenges and opportunities that arise during the Execution of our dreams and vision for our business.
And do so in non-technical and friendly language any entrepreneur can appreciate.
Recommended.

[Dave Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book and a fine lesson, with some key takeaways however it is definitely a book where, while the central premise is clear, not every part of the book is applicable to your everyday as a small business owner. This is actually a good thing because it means you can come back to the book in a few years and see if you can pull out any more lessons that may be applicable to you at the moment.

I didn't love the parts in the book where the author spoke about specific types of businesses and how you "could" go about fixing a specific problem a business owner could take to resolve those problems. This to me sounded more like fiction rather than actual lessons but I get why they are there. It is easier to take a lesson when you can associate it with a story, this part just didn't work for me at this time.

Still, not a bad book. We will see at the end of the year if I retain any of the lessons.

[Josh Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all of Mike's work, I believe this is his most important one. One challenge business owners have is what should I work on? There are always things that appear important, but when you drill down, they really aren't. Business owners need a simple system for evaluating where they are and what will move the needle the fastest.

I love the Mike focuses on the Theory of Constraints as the best tool for improving processes in your company. I call the Theory of Constraints whack a mole for business. Find the bottleneck, fix it and wait for the next one to pop up.

With Mike's method, you don't need to wait for the next one to pop up, you have a system that will help you find the next one and the one that will move the needle for you and your business the most.

Read this book and take notes, then implement what you've learned. You and your business will be teh better for this.

[Bruce Harpham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to this book as a fan of Mike Michalowicz. His earlier book "Profit First" was excellent and it has already paid dividends in my business.

In business, you face constant problems. That causes stress on several levels including the feeling that you don't know which problem to fix. Do you need to solve sales? What about systems? Or starting a pursuit for meaning? In this short, tightly reasoned book, Mike Michalowicz takes you through a step by step methodology on when to fix business problems. Some of the problems (e.g. "vision") are not currently on my priority list and I found this book reassuring. That problem can be solved later after some other business problems can be solved.

I read this book as an audiobook and may read it again in Kindle format to more fully explore the ideas.

[Myles V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found This Gleaming Sword at the Bottom of the Swamp

The reason why Mike Michalowicz’s penned gem is likable (or hated) is that he is willing to go further than any one else is willing (or understands) to go. After all, he’s”been there, done that.” But unlike the plethora of influencers and wannabes, he’s the real thing. You’re in for a favor—getting kicked in the rear end and getting your teeth knocked out with truth, integrity, and frameworks build into one and lasting. I end with a question:You’re paddling your canoe, you stop in front of bitcoin mine.Suddenly you see a knife in your stomach and you’re broke. Where are you? You are on a (Perry Marshall) Monopoly Board. Business is like a monopoly board, filled with riddles. Mike takes you down on the board and the riddles become the way.

[Heather W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fix This Next is a clear, practical, and refreshingly honest guide for entrepreneurs overwhelmed by competing priorities. Mike Michalowicz tackles one of the most common and most paralyzing business challenges: not knowing which problem deserves attention first. By introducing a hierarchy ofneeds framework for businesses, he gives readers a simple yet powerful diagnostic tool to cut through noise and focus on what truly matters.

What makes the book especially effective is its accessibility. Michalowicz blends humor, real world examples, and actionable insight to create a system that feels immediately usable rather than theoretical. The concepts are easy to grasp yet deeply impactful, helping entrepreneurs stop firefighting and start making meaningful progress. Fix This Next is a standout resource for business owners seeking clarity, momentum, and sustainable growth.

[Hallie Talley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to leave a legacy through your business? READ THIS NOW!

This was the first Mike Michalowicz book that I’ve read. I’ve heard good things about his books and was encouraged to read this before his other books. Boy, am I glad I did.

I currently run a business and am getting ready to launch a second one. This book, and the system contained in it, have given me so much clarity on what I need to focus on for each individual business. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds when you’re in the business. This helps clear things up and gets you focused on what you need to FIX NEXT in your business.

I highly recommend this book to any entrepreneur or business owner, regardless of how old they are or how old the businesses are!

[Mark Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I read this book when I originally got it I think 2 years ago it would have probably helped save my business this is a must read for anyone within business or is struggling or has challenges that perhaps they don’t know how to overcome
Great use of Masslows Hierarchy of needs and applied it to business
After 3 chapters I bought his other two books pumpkin pie and profit first of which I will try and read this year
It is a good book I found the first three parts more relevant to me and probably like a lot of other businesses as I can’t think of my lasting legacy as of yet

Only thing I didn’t like is the repeated joke about bowlers being weirdos 😂 not that hard am a bowler but made me think what’s happened with him and bowlers in the past

[Jenny Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely recommend reading this vs. Listening to it on Audible so you can reference the actual action plan easier. It's a simple framework to get clear on what to focus on in your business.

I got less out of it than I did out of Mike's other books but that's partly because I already have a business assessment of my own I created and use for myself and my clients and this is something I do fairly regularly so it was less actionable for me.

If you don't have a framework, this is definitely one worth trying out! It doesn't take long and you'll learn quickly if you can get something out of it or not.

[Katrina Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This is my third book with Mike Michalowicz!

I read ClockWork 2x, Pumpkin Plan 2x, and now finished Fix this Next 2x.

I love how FTN helps you diagnose & focus on THE key element to fix your business that will impact everything. Not only that, but to return to it over and over.

It has impacted my prioritization and continues to while integrating the ClockWork aspects (already automated over 80% of business over last 4+ years & over 10% delegated last year & increasing focus to ClockWork. Tested unplugging 1-2 weeks & increasing to 2 and later this year to 4.

You will love this book whether you are an entrepreneur, department head, VP or CEO

[George Andrews III · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting way to think about limiting the scope of your improvement efforts

When thinking about your business it can sometimes become overwhelming where to put your limited time, attention and focus. Fix This Next is one framework to try and help with that dilemma. It might be better to return to as you identify the area and then read the different sections. If you are working on Sales the chapters on Legacy will seem of little use. As with most business books, a good idea is then drawn out to fill a book. Most of the time the concept can be grasped by chapter 2 and then the rest is exploratory exposition. The same applies here.

[Rachael | Booklist Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When running a business, it can seem impossible to decide which of your numerous problems to tackle first. Mike Michalowicz, the author of Profit First, demonstrates a simple system to help you prioritize your business's needs inspired by Maslov's hierarchy of needs.

Although I loved Profit First and use it in my business, I was skeptical of Fix This Next. Listening to the audiobook, I was underwhelmed by his newest business strategy and thought it sounded like cliche managerial nonsense. Then I actually sat down to implement it, and I was blown away. It showed some glaring holes I should fix first before I go on to my next big steps.

[David M.]

From time to time I read business books. Many of these books sound to me so detached from the real world of small business ownership as to be either unhelpful altogether, or at the very least, require work to port over the principles.

When I read Mike M., I do not have that problem. His books are relatable in the way that make me believe he has actually run small businesses and knows the challenges involved. That is a big reason for me to want to recommend his stuff.

That being said, this was good, and probably would have served me better if I had read a physical copy rather than listened to the audio. I may just return to it and do just that.

[Steve Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 7/19, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet and Stevo's Novel Ideas. Business has a hierarchy. Fix that one thing next, and your #business will naturally/effortlessly level-up.

Find more Business Books of the week on my Goodreads Listopia page at https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9..., and find many more recommended books on my Amazon Influencer page at https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747 or by searching for me on Google.

[Pablo GdelaG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro que te diseña y explica la manera correcta de descubrir los problemas de tu empresa, priorizar el orden correcto de resolución de los mismos y la manera de corregir cada uno de ellos partiendo de la pirámide de necesidades básicas elaboradas por Maslow.

Esta metodología elimina muchos errores y facilita y acelera el crecimiento de tu empresa, 100% recomendable. Considero que esta misma metodología se pudiera llevar a un nivel personal, simplemente alternando cada nivel de la pirámide empresarial a conceptos personales.

[Petter Briones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nuevamente Mike me cautiva con su manera tan amena y divertida de escribir. Pero sobre todo este libro me cambió totalmente mi manera de pensar con respecto a los negocios, me ayudó a sacar el punto en que se encuentra mi compañía y los siguientes pasos que debo dar para seguir creciendo en orden de prioridad.

Este libro además me ayudó a pensar más como empresario y creador de sistema, ya es el 5 libro que leo de Mike y nunca paso de aprender, siempre lo recomiendo a mis amigos porque el contenido que tiene el libro es oro puro si lo llegas a aplicar.

[Artem Rodichev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining, extremely helpful, full of examples and humour. A must-read for managers and business owners of all kinds.

Mike offers a tool - BHS, a business hierarchy of needs. It is an iterative approach where you "scan" your business trying to find the right place to apply your efforts. Kinda similar to Godratt's "The Goal" (which is referenced in the book by the way), however way easier to implement.

[Andrew Boimila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love a good framework and Mike delivers again. His books, this one included, are some of the best actionable books for entrepreneurs out there.

The BHN helps provide business owners with clarity and focus, two things we all drastically need.

Not sure what problem to fix next? Not sure what will propel your business to the next level? Read this book.

[Elodie Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think if I hadn't just read Profit First and got absolutely blown away, I would have liked this book more. Tough act to follow.

Main take away: Focus your business on profit making activities, meaning streamlining processes, cutting fat and getting leaner. If you're at the top of the game, compete with yourself.

[Marcey Rader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I drink the Michalowicz Kool-Aid and like this as much as his other books. He simplifies everything down to make the concepts understandable for any size business. He gives the steps to work through them without getting overwhelmed. One. Step. At. A. Time. and one part of your business to fix at a time. I used the checklist at the end to determine where I needed to fix next in my business.

[Povilas Krikščiūnas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book summary: prioritise.
But instead of diving deep on the topic of prioritisation, the author goes off on various broad tangents, never really hitting anything of substance - from quoting ideas of other authors, to presenting fictional future success stories which should happen if you just follow the author’s advice, to even explaining Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

[Alexandre B B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the clear method and Mike seems to be a real good author about entrepreneurship and business success.
Sadly the book is too long and its structure repeats itself again and again, like a course with chapters and same path: a story, the message, a real life example. Ok for a course but makes a book a bit boring.

[Missy Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! It put into words what I guess every entrepreneur feels at some point…that you just don’t know what of the hundreds of things you could do, which one you should do next. It’s a simple and clear method for addressing the most important thing next. I listened to it on audio, but then also bought the print copy so I can refer back to it.