In 2007, David McLean established Linear Solutions in Randleman, North Carolina, merging his deep expertise in electrical engineering and robotics with a dream of serving manufacturers through advanced automation. Although he excelled technically, David discovered that leading a company required more than engineering acumen. Through a partnership with ActionCOACH, guided by coach Ross Cox, he reshaped Linear Solutions from a rollercoaster startup into a stable enterprise, redefining both his own leadership style and the firm’s trajectory.
“I never imagined how much I’d learn about business,” David says. “ActionCOACH didn’t just teach me how to handle finances or employees, they reprogrammed how I think about my role as an owner. It was an overhaul of my entire approach.”
David’s realization marked a turning point. While technical brilliance had launched Linear Solutions, the next challenge lay in building an organization that could thrive beyond David’s personal capacity.
A Skilled Technician Struggles to Scale
From the outset, Linear Solutions centered on three guiding principles: unwavering hard work, genuine employee care, and true customer empathy. David initially believed that fulfilling these pillars himself by writing code, balancing the books, and fielding client inquiries would automatically yield success. Yet as orders surged, he found himself grappling with an unsustainable cycle: intense spikes of overwork followed by periods of little to no activity. With a small team, any sudden influx of projects overwhelmed resources, and in the downtime, revenue dried up.
“I was proud of being so hands-on,” David reflects, “but I soon saw that if I couldn’t handle a task, it just wouldn’t get done. That’s no way to run a business. We experienced wild feast-or-famine swings that drained me and stressed my team.”
David’s thorough technical knowledge was able to mask the gaps in his management approach for a time. Without clear processes or a delegated chain of command, crucial growth-related tasks such as nurturing client leads or refining operational workflows, were consistently pushed aside. While David harbored the passion to see Linear Solutions succeed, he lacked the structures and leadership mindset required to achieve sustainable results.
Recognizing Personal Limitations
Over time, David realized that his “do-it-all” mentality placed a cap on Linear Solutions’ potential. The company’s reputation for quality was high, but there was no mechanism to handle expanded scopes or multiple concurrent projects without risking burnout. Neither was there a cohesive strategy to stabilize the pipeline, leaving David in perpetual “firefighting” mode.
“I was effectively the bottleneck,” he concedes. “I knew something had to change, but I didn’t know where to start.”
Enter ActionCOACH and Coach Ross Cox
At a critical juncture, David received a phone call from ActionCOACH. Initially skeptical of external consultants, he discovered that Coach Ross Cox took a different angle by focusing first on David’s goals, daily pressures, and long-range vision for Linear Solutions. Ross aimed to align the company’s strategic blueprint with David’s personal motivations, ensuring to focus on what David truly wanted to accomplish.
“Ross didn’t just hand me solutions,” David notes. “He wanted to know why I started Linear Solutions in the first place and where I wanted to take it. It was a conversation that dug deeper into my values than anything else I’d experienced in business.”
Accountability, Mindset, and KPIs
ActionCOACH introduced David to weekly accountability sessions, requiring him to articulate specific, measurable goals such as implementing a new quoting system, scheduling outreach calls, or delegating a portion of factory-floor oversight. Ross then measured David’s follow-through, pushing him to confront whether uncompleted tasks were genuinely important. This approach forced David to prioritize more effectively, while also highlighting the tasks he was routinely postponing.
“Ross would say, ‘If you haven’t acted on it, maybe it’s not really a priority,’” David recalls. “Hearing that forced me to confront what mattered and what needed to be delegated. It cut through my usual excuses.”
Ross also guided David to shift his mindset from “lead engineer” to “CEO,” emphasizing that David’s primary role was to architect a scalable business system. This meant instituting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for quotes, project timelines, and team satisfaction, eliminating guesswork in favor of data-driven insights. With clarity on metrics, David could decide which areas demanded urgent attention and which required more thorough, longer-term adjustments.
“Before ActionCOACH, I honestly thought leadership just meant working more hours,” David admits. “Ross showed me that real leadership is about building a structure that runs well even if I’m not there.”
Restructuring Roles and Delegating
Under Ross’s guidance, David recruited an integrator to manage shop-floor tasks and coordinate the engineering team. This new role became pivotal in streamlining processes: overseeing schedules, approving technical decisions, and ensuring consistency in deliverables. Freed from micromanaging each project, David refocused on sales, client relationships, and strategic growth, the areas where his leadership had the most transformative impact.
“Initially, I worried about quality slipping if I stepped back,” David says. “But Ross insisted that empowering the team would actually raise standards, and he was right. Giving control to someone capable meant they owned it and thrived.”
Establishing a Culture of Empowerment
ActionCOACH also helped David realize that a supportive workplace culture was key to both retaining employees and fostering real ownership. Engineers, technicians, and staff members gained clarity through routine group discussions and transparent KPIs, enabling them to propose improvements, collaborate seamlessly, and grow into leadership roles of their own.
“It turned out the team was more capable than I thought,” David notes. “People excel when they own the results. Ross often reminded me that trusting employees is like multiplying your reach.”
This cultural change directly aligned with David’s early vision of genuine employee care, but now it was systematically applied. Team members felt valued, not just as workers but as contributors shaping Linear Solutions’ future. That sense of belonging reduced turnover and cultivated an environment where fresh ideas flourished.
Cross-Industry Insights at BizX
Beyond weekly sessions, David immersed himself in BizX, ActionCOACH’s global business conference. Meeting entrepreneurs from sectors like hospitality, retail, and technology, he recognized that the challenges he faced were not unique: from hiring and training staff to building resilient marketing channels, each industry struggled with universal business hurdles. Insights gleaned from restaurant owners or boutique shops often revealed creative solutions for David’s manufacturing context.
“I assumed social media wasn’t for manufacturing,” David admits. “But hearing how others used platforms like LinkedIn or YouTube at BizX changed my mind. Now, I post short videos of our robotic systems, and it’s been huge for attracting quality leads.”
BizX also reinforced the power of systematic problem-solving, a principle central to ActionCOACH. David saw how accountability frameworks, data-based metrics, and a willingness to adapt led to long-term success across diverse industries. Encouraged by these cross-pollinated ideas, he refined Linear Solutions’ marketing strategy to showcase the company’s engineering capabilities in an approachable, engaging way.
A More Stable Pipeline and Higher Morale
By embracing weekly accountability, redefining roles, and using KPIs, Linear Solutions developed a smoother project pipeline, drastically reducing the boom-bust cycle that once plagued the firm. David discovered a data-driven viewpoint for scheduling, budgeting, and long-term forecasting. Team members no longer felt overextended one month and idle the next; instead, they saw a balanced queue of projects informed by strategic planning.
“We’d finish a project and debrief with real numbers,” David explains. “It was no longer guesswork, just looking at metrics and talking about how to improve. People stopped feeling whiplashed by sudden workload changes.”
Additionally, these changes elevated employee morale. Staff members felt more acknowledged, trusted, and empowered to solve challenges without waiting for David’s sign-off. Clear KPIs allowed them to measure personal progress and see how their contributions directly affected the company’s bottom line. This alignment boosted job satisfaction and fostered a sense of unity around shared objectives.
Expanded Capacity and Complex Projects
With David less entangled in daily technical tasks, Linear Solutions took on larger, more complex automation projects that demanded strategic negotiations and deeper client relationships. Freed from firefighting, David could devote energy to building lasting partnerships. He also had the bandwidth to explore new technologies, such as AI-driven design or advanced analytics, which further differentiated the company in a competitive market.
“Clients are impressed when they see not just me, but an entire team committed to their success,” David says. “That teamwork is exactly what ActionCOACH encouraged me to build. It’s made a huge difference in how clients perceive our capabilities.”
Because of these shifts, Linear Solutions expanded its client roster, tackling projects that once seemed too big or resource-intensive. David’s focus on collaboration, internally and with suppliers, enabled the firm to handle multiple assignments simultaneously, stabilizing revenue and fueling steady growth.
New Growth Strategies and Ongoing Coaching
David remains engaged in regular check-ins with Ross Cox, ensuring that fresh challenges such as integrating AI-driven designs or establishing in-house supply-chain ventures are approached with the same measurable goals and accountability that initially turned the company around. David credits ActionCOACH for continually preventing him from reverting to old habits.
“Ross is the voice in my head saying, ‘Stick to the plan, measure your progress, and empower the team,’” David notes. “It keeps me aligned with the big picture instead of falling into day-to-day firefighting.”
This ongoing guidance underscores ActionCOACH’s commitment to long-term transformation, not just a one-time fix. David now sees himself as a steward of a broader vision, one that values operational excellence, employee development, and innovation in tandem.
ActionCOACH's Impact on Linear Solutions
David McLean’s transformation at Linear Solutions illustrates how ActionCOACH’s accountability and strategic frameworks can reshape an entrepreneur’s leadership style. Initially, David believed relentless work alone would suffice, only to find himself overwhelmed by fluctuating orders and minimal forward planning. By partnering with coach Ross Cox, he embraced a new leadership identity, one built on delegation, metrics, and a supportive environment designed to scale.
“Before ActionCOACH, I was certain I had to do it all,” David recalls. “Now, I see myself as the architect of a system that helps everyone, employees, customers, and me, thrive. The bigger I let others grow, the more we can accomplish together.”
Today, Linear Solutions stands as a growing automation firm, taking on bigger projects and retaining a devoted team that thrives on clarity and collaboration. David’s story offers a compelling case study of how structured coaching can convert technical brilliance into sustainable success, empowering entrepreneurs to leave behind the “technician’s trap” and embrace the broader responsibilities of true business leadership. Whether it’s the addition of an integrator, the establishment of KPIs, or the pursuit of AI-enabled solutions, each step reflects the core ActionCOACH philosophy: to fuse accountability and vision for long-term, meaningful impact.
Looking to grow your business while fixing operational inefficiencies and restoring your personal freedom? Reach out today to request a discovery call to learn how ActionCOACH's tested systems can revolutionize your business operations and facilitate your personal development.