Steve Wood: The Four Aces Every Business Must Play

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??Are you working hard but not getting ahead?

??Do your people know exactly what to prioritise each day?

??Could your business be busy without actually moving forward?

If you want your organisation to focus only on the activities that truly drive results, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, John Downes speaks with Steve Wood (consultant, author of The 4 Aces, and long-time business simplifier) about how leaders can focus their teams on four essential priorities that generate cash, value, and growth. Steve shares real-world client stories, practical questioning techniques, and simple systems to stop wasting time and start delivering results.

What You’ll Learn:

== The Four Aces framework: customers, delivery, process, and intellectual property

== How to ask “power questions” that uncover what clients really need

== When to say no to a client to protect your business and sanity

== How to document and scale your best methods across clients and industries

Highlights

00:00 Steve Wood and the Concept of the 4 Aces

03:44 Ace of Spades: Attracting and Winning Customers

05:29 Ace of Hearts: Delivering What Customers Want

11:59 Ace of Diamonds: Streamlining Processes

16:35 Ace of Clubs: Leveraging Intellectual Property

19:39 Key Takeaways

21:00 #CriticalFewActions™ for Senior Leaders

The #CriticalFewActions™ You Can Do Today:

When I work with successful business leaders, I often see teams working hard but not always working smart. Steve’s Four Aces filter ensures daily actions align with winning customers, delivering value, improving systems, and creating intellectual property.

The first insight is about focusing on the right priorities. Many confuse activity with progress. So, what can you do?

= Audit your current to-do list — what links directly to the Four Aces?

= Help your team align their work to one of the four categories.

The second insight is about asking power questions. Delivery problems often come from unclear expectations. So, what can you do?

= Ask: What’s the real problem? What’s the opportunity? What does done look like?

= Filter clients — can they be helped, and will they follow through?

The third insight is about scaling your IP. Many leaders miss this opportunity. So, what can you do?

= Document your proven methods, even in rough form.

= Turn one into a tangible asset this quarter and reuse it.

If you found this conversation valuable, please Subscribe / Follow, leave a comment, and share this episode with your peer business leaders. Your support helps us reach more CEOs who want to improve organisation performance and value.

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OR: 

Are you a business owner or CEO striving to elevate your business to new heights? But right now… you’re not hitting the targets or objectives your business needs to achieve. Or maybe you’ve hit a roadblock you can’t move past—a major challenge with no clear solution—and there’s no one in your world you can talk to about it.

This isn’t another generic leadership course. It’s a highly focused, small-group programme where you’ll work alongside your peers, on your business, break through barriers, and implement real-world strategies—not just to solve the problems holding your business back, but to accelerate your growth faster than you thought possible.

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Final Thought

Every leader is dealt a hand. The question is — are you playing your strongest cards, or wasting time on the rest?

#CriticalFewActions #CEOMasterclass #leadership #businessgrowth #strategicplanning #processimprovement #customerfocus #intellectualproperty #businessmentoring #focus