More work, less profit.
10-Minute Transformation gives you a ten-minute test that finds what's killing your profit, and a 90-day playbook to fix it.
Todd Hagopian has led business transformations at Berkshire Hathaway, Illinois Tool Works and Whirlpool.
“A brusque and powerfully worded call to combat corporate stagnation. The author’s vividly rendered vision is surgically precise.”
— Kirkus Reviews, on Stagnation Assassin
TRANSFORMED BUSINESSES AT Berkshire Hathaway · Illinois Tool Works · Whirlpool
FEATURED ON Fox Business · Forbes.com · The Washington Post · NPR
If every fix makes it worse, effort isn't the problem.
Maybe the reports still look fine. Maybe they stopped looking fine a while ago. Either way, it's more work and less profit, and every fix seems to make something else worse. Nobody here is lazy. The problem is how the business turns work into money, and you can find it in ten minutes.
NEW BOOK · COMING FEBRUARY 23, 2027 · PREORDER NOW
10-Minute Transformation
Diagnose and Destroy Your Profit Killers
Revenue can climb while profit quietly leaks. 10-Minute Transformation starts with a three-metric test from your income statement. In about ten minutes you'll know whether the business is really generating cash, which of twelve business types you're running, and what to fix first, with a 90-day playbook to do it.
Foreword by Demetris Papadimitropoulos · Koehler Books · Publication date: February 23, 2027
Hardcover ISBN 979-8888249796 · Paperback ISBN 979-8888249772
Preorder 10-Minute TransformationSee inside the book
Two ways to get it. Preorder now and it ships on release. Or buy on launch day, February 23, 2027, and get three free audiobooks (10-Minute Transformation, Stagnation Assassin and The Unfair Advantage) plus the full minibook library, on the honor system. Preorders don't include the launch-day bonuses.
I've been inside the business where more work still meant less profit.
In 2012 I walked into a refrigeration division where quality was climbing, complaints were falling and every operational metric was green. It was losing about $500K a day, and routine engineering changes needed seventeen signatures. That business went from a $175M loss to break-even. I've led transformations at Berkshire Hathaway, Illinois Tool Works and Whirlpool, and bought and grew my own manufacturer. What I learned is now one diagnostic and one 90-day plan.
Most leaders will read the same books, hire the same consultants, and implement the same frameworks as their competitors and wonder why they can't get ahead by running the exact same plays.
“In every role and company, Todd brought strong strategic expertise, using 80/20 tools to focus the business on the areas most likely to drive growth—and each time, he was right. … I would confidently recommend Todd to any organization seeking a leader or partner who can combine strategic insight with practical, results-driven execution.”
— Mary Beth Siddons, Former EVP
“Todd is the only person I call when I need straight business advice, whether it's strategy, capital structure, operations or a tough decision. He cuts through the noise, focuses on what matters, and gives me clear advice backed by experience.”
— Kevin Hobbie, VP IonDrive
Results, not theory
Turnarounds by the Numbers
$3B+ in documented shareholder value across five turnarounds
$175M loss to break-even
Whirlpool: side-by-side refrigeration
The situation
A $900M category losing about $500K a day.
What changed
Two price increases, walking away from value-destroying volume, premium launches and sniper SKUs.
$50M contract
Berkshire Hathaway: Unarco shopping carts
The situation
A $50M shopping cart division with 150 employees across three plants.
What changed
A new cart design won back Sam’s Club, plants were consolidated, and share improved at 6 of the top 10 accounts, ending in a $50M Walmart/Sam’s Club contract.
2x in 3.5 years
His own manufacturer: plastics and tank liners
The situation
A company Todd bought with his life savings.
What changed
The 80/20 Matrix, price increases, lead times cut in half and a new floor liner product.
+60%
Whirlpool: waste management and value dishwashers
The situation
A $100M business.
What changed
Revamped marketing with OEM suppliers, and landed IKEA and HH Gregg.
$42M to $67M
Illinois Tool Works: grocery scales and wrapping
The situation
A US business serving Kroger, Walmart, Costco and Publix.
What changed
No new products. Better positioning, sharper selling, and fleet-based selling that replaced the break-fix model.
What reviewers say about Todd's Stagnation Assassin
“Hagopian declares war on stagnation and provides the weapons to wage it.”
— BlueInk Review
“This book gives you a practical playbook. Nothing ever changes until we tell ourselves the truth. Isn’t it time you stop making excuses?”
— Randy Pennington, Author of Results Rule! and Make Change Work
“A direct challenge to the consulting orthodoxy that has taught leaders to analyze longer, align broader, and act slower until the opportunity is gone. This book will not just change how you think about your business; it will change how you lead it.”
— Glen Parkes, 80/20 guru
Fix it in three steps.
Pick your problem
Answer one question and get the free minibook that fits.
Run the ten-minute test
Three metrics from your income statement show whether growth is making money and which layer is breaking.
Follow the 90-day plan
10-Minute Transformation maps your result to the fixes that matter first.
Start with the free minibook that fits your problem.
Thirteen short guides. Each takes one business problem, gives you a method and ends with an action plan you can start this week.
Want this for your leadership team or conference?
Todd's keynotes give the room the same diagnostic and the first moves to make.
What's at stake.
If nothing changes
Stay busy and the business keeps doing more work for less profit, until the bad news arrives late and all at once.
When you know
Know which customers and products actually make money, which part of the business is breaking, and exactly what you'll do about it in the next 90 days.