Is Your AE Firm Coming Down with Something? A Cold-Season Diagnosis for Your Business

Is Your AE Firm Coming Down with Something? A Cold-Season Diagnosis for Your Business

This winter, I became a full participant in the annual ritual of cold and flu misery. Somewhere between the first scratchy throat and my third ill-advised dose of extra-strength decongestant, I had a thought (or a fever dream, hard to say): The way a body gets sick is a lot like how an AE firm starts to break down.

There’s a rhythm to illness. First, it’s subtle—a tickle in the throat, a little extra fatigue. Maybe you ignore it, push through, tell yourself you’re just tired. Then, suddenly, it hits—congestion, chills, brain fog. The symptoms take over, and if you don’t get ahead of it, you’re out of commission.

Firms get sick the same way. If you’re paying attention, the early warning signs are there. If you ignore them, you’re in for a long and painful recovery. So, in the interest of public health (and firm health), here’s how to recognize if your AE firm might be coming down with something—and what to do before it gets worse.

Symptom #1: The Slow Onset of Brain Fog

Translation: Leadership is running on fumes

One of the first signs you’re getting sick is that your brain just stops working right. You forget why you walked into a room. You reread the same sentence three times. You stare blankly at an email, trying to remember what words are.

In firms, this sort of malfunction manifests as leadership exhaustion. The partners, principals, or senior team members aren’t making crisp decisions anymore. Meetings are sluggish, full of recycled ideas and vague plans. There’s no urgency, no forward motion—just a lot of thinking about thinking.

Symptom #2: The Persistent Cough

Translation: You keep talking about the same problems…but nothing changes

You know that cough that won’t go away? The one that sounds terrible, keeps you up at night, but never quite turns into something worse? That’s what it looks like when firms get stuck in a cycle of discussing problems without solving them.

“We need better project management.”
“We have to fix our hiring process.”
“We should really be thinking about our next generation of leaders.”

Sound familiar? These aren’t new problems—they’re chronic ones. And yet, year after year, the same concerns are raised in leadership meetings, with no real action behind them.

Symptom #3: The Unshakeable Fatigue

Translation: People are burned out and nobody’s talking about it

When you’re sick, exhaustion isn’t just about needing sleep. It’s the kind of tired that settles into your bones. You wake up tired. You sit at your desk tired. You go home tired.

This happens to firms, too. People start dragging. Deadlines get missed. Enthusiasm fades. The energy that used to drive the company forward just isn’t there anymore. And yet, no one wants to say it out loud. Instead, they push through, pretending everything’s fine—until key people start quitting or the work starts slipping.

Symptom #4: Loss of Appetite

Translation: The firm is losing its ambition

One of the biggest warning signs that a cold is about to knock you out? You lose your appetite. The things you normally enjoy suddenly seem unappealing.

The same thing happens to firms. Once upon a time, there was a hunger to grow, to push into new markets, to chase after the best projects. But now? The appetite is gone. Maybe the firm has gotten comfortable. Maybe leadership is too distracted by day-to-day operations to think about what’s next. Either way, it’s a problem.

Symptom #5: A Weakened Immune System

Translation: You’re losing good people faster than you can replace them

The worst part of being sick? It doesn’t just stop at one thing. Once your body is weakened, you become susceptible to everything. A simple cold turns into bronchitis. A mild case of the flu suddenly knocks you out for a month.

Firms with weakened “immune systems” lose their ability to retain people. High turnover, especially among mid-level employees, is the business equivalent of getting hit with back-to-back illnesses. You don’t have time to recover from one departure before another one hits.

Symptom #6: The Sudden High Fever

Translation: A major crisis is brewing

Most of the time, colds and flus are slow-moving. But sometimes, they escalate fast. You’re fine in the morning, and by afternoon, you’re a mess.

For firms, this is what happens when a long-ignored issue suddenly erupts into a crisis. A top client leaves. A senior leader walks out with no warning. A financial mistake surfaces, and suddenly, you’re staring down the barrel of a cash-flow crisis.

The Road to Recovery

The good news? Just like most seasonal illnesses, firm sickness is rarely fatal—if you treat it in time. But if you ignore the symptoms, refuse to slow down, or pretend everything is fine, the recovery will take a lot longer than it should.

So, if any of these symptoms sound familiar, take a step back. Rest. Recalibrate. Invest in what keeps your firm healthy—strong leadership, engaged employees, smart growth. Otherwise, you might find yourself coughing through another year, wondering why the same problems keep coming back.

And for the love of all things holy—wash your hands.

Contact Mark Goodale at 508.254.3914 or email [email protected].