Build a Business Worth More

Practical strategy tools for business owners and leadership teams who want clarity, focus, and execution – without complexity.

The next Workshop™ is in Phoenix 11/2 & 11/3, 2026!

Book a call with Carl J Cox
Book a call with Carl J Cox

86% of executives spend less than one hour a month on strategy!

That’s why most strategies stall.

What makes 40 Strategy different?

  • One clear 12-month focus
  • 10-week sprints built with your team
  • One weekly action per person
  • Weekly accountability to remove roadblocks

“Carl was a game changer in our transformation. He helped us identify what truly mattered, focus execution, and move faster as a leadership team. I’m a better executive because of our work together and I recommend 40 Strategy and 40 Accounting without hesitation.”

Don Lindsey, CEO & President, Precision Machine & Manufacturing

Our Clients

   

Most strategic plans fail because priorities are unclear.

We identify what’s blocking progress, show what to fix first, and quantify the value of each decision.

Our Secret?                                      The 40 Hour Fix™!

How a land surveying company transformed its business (and profits) within 1 year

The Struggle:

CEO Kenny Green had already built his company, Terrane, into a thriving, well-regarded land surveying business in the Puget Sound region. But the organization had plateaued, thanks to long waiting times to complete projects (up to 140 hours from start to finish), no clear growth strategy in place, and uncertainty over which team members should be in which roles. Kenny admits he had some “tunnel vision,” and the company was just chasing revenue for revenue’s sake—without a comprehensive, structured plan to scale the business. Sometimes, it felt like Terrane’s only strategy for growth was just to work longer hours.

The Solution:

As we dug into Terrane’s processes, we almost immediately found the bottleneck keeping the company from scaling: the 140-hour wait time for a land surveying project. Members of the surveying team (high-value experts in their field) were routinely spending hours on admin/logistical tasks instead of simply focusing on surveying.

Thanks to regular accountability check-ins between Carl and the whole Terrane team, everyone got clear on their specific responsibilities, and Kenny clarified the Key Performance Indicators he needed to monitor to maintain future growth. We found spots in the surveying process to streamline, and worked on eliminating organizational bloat.

The Outcome:

Terrane used the 40 Strategy Trim method to, within 6 months, cut back their 140-hour land surveying process—into 40 cumulative hours. Surveyors were able to focus on their high-value expertise, while other Terrane team members stepped in to take admin and logistical responsibilities. With the right people in the right seats, everyone was more aligned—and it improved efficiency, created better customer service, and set the stage for scaling.

Thanks to that streamlining, Terrane created more space for new business, and increased sales by over 40%. In 2021 alone, Terrane delivered more than 500 surveys beyond their 2020 numbers. With processes dialed in, team members operating according to their unique strengths, and Kenny back to more strategic duties, the organization experienced a major shift within a year—but also set the foundation for long-term growth in the future.

See the CAPTAIN Strategy Framework:
Compass [Alignment]:
  • Learn how to get your whole team’s buy-in on a common goal. We teach you how to craft and communicate a vision everyone will actually get behind.
Aspire [Goal]:
  • Define your next destination. We help you design stretch goals to change your behaviors to reach the next level.
Plan [Strategy]:
  • Define the “how” — the milestones and action steps that will help you and your team achieve your goals. You’ll design a world-class strategic plan.
Trim [Focus]:
  • Scaling your business means cutting the fat and shifting focus to your most high-value activities. We’ll evaluate where there’s organizational
bloat, and how to streamline your processes to eliminate waste.
Act [Launch]:
  • We set clear start dates and deadlines for each step of your strategic plan. Then we help your team generate quick wins to build momentum.
Illuminate [Measuring]:
  • According to the Harvard Business Review, companies that focus on the right leading indicators can triple their success. Here, we’ll help you determine which indicators you should measure. Then you can track your success and make more progress, faster.
Navigate [Learning]:
  • A strategic plan is a hypothesis — not a fact. We’ll evaluate what’s working and not working, using those insights to adjust your strategy.

Meet 40 Strategy Founder and CEO Carl J. Cox

Carl is a business strategist and trusted advisor to CEOs. He’s a former C-level executive at five companies operating across four continents, with deep experience in strategy, operations, finance, project management, sales, and lean manufacturing.

Over his career, Carl scaled multiple companies 3x–5x. While serving as CEO in North America for an Australia-based strategy and software firm, where he launched the U.S. operation, he worked with hundreds of leadership teams and saw firsthand why most strategic plans fail while the top 10% succeed.

That insight led to 40 Strategy and the CAPTAIN™ methodology, proven to help organizations, from startups to $40M businesses, execute strategy 3x faster, improve profitability, and scale with accountability.

Carl is also the author of Lost at CEO and host of the Measure Success Podcast, where he shares practical insights on leadership, execution, and growth.

How the CAPTAIN method helped Don 2x and even 3x parts of his Precision Machine & Manufacturing business.

The Struggle:

Don, the CEO of Precision Machine & Manufacturing in Oregon, came to me “stuck in the storm.” He was trapped in day-to-day execution, with no time for big-picture strategy. The organization lacked clear priorities, progress toward company goals was slow (or nonexistent), and Don was stressed out and overworked.

The Solution:

What Precision needed was some streamlining and team alignment. Through the Trim phase of the CAPTAIN process, we taught Don how to narrow his focus, and prioritize the work that truly drove impact and growth. We established clear priorities for the whole team—then outlined specific deadlines and milestones to reach those goals, along with regular accountability meetings. That level of focus—from Don, and his whole team—completely transformed Precision.

The Outcome:

Within 18 months, Precision’s sales orders doubled. They experienced 200% and 300% growth within multiple markets. With the extra revenue, they were even able to upgrade and expand their equipment and team. Now, Don spends his days focused on strategic planning, team development, and long-term visioning—not stuck in the weeds of day-to-day operations.

The CAPTAIN Strategy Program provided me a solid understanding of strategic planning principles and taught me what is required to ensure success vs. failure.

I’ve been in similar workshops where everything is theoretical and appears to be disconnected from the realities of today’s business world. I loved that real world examples were used to reinforce the concepts which helped “make it real.” The collaborative environment allowed me to learn from the fellow participants as we went through the process.

The program is more than just a learning exercise: Coming out of the program I had solid strategic plan ready to implement. Whether you lead a team of 500 or are a one-person start-up, the CAPTAIN Strategy Program can be used to put your business on a path to greater success.”

— Bob McGlasson, Director at a Fortune 100 company

Got 40 Hours?

Ready to identify the right priorities?

Ready to activate your team?

Ready to get the strategy, support, and accountability you need to finally scale your business?

It’s time for the 40 Hour Fix™!