As Layoffs Dominate 2026 Headlines, New Book Challenges CEOs to Fix Broken Systems — Not Blame Workers

Toledo, Ohio Jan 26, 2026 (EMWNews.com) – As layoffs sweep across industries in early 2026, one author argues the root cause isn’t underperformance — it’s broken systems leaders can’t see.

In Making Things Better: Timeless Lessons From Steve Jobs on Fixing What’s Broken, Toledo-based author and systems consultant Ben Klaiber unpacks how Jobs saved Apple in 1997 — not through charisma, but through systematic problem-solving. And he says those same frameworks could save jobs today.

“Jobs didn’t just demand more from people — he removed the landmines in their way so they could deliver,” Klaiber says. “Most companies don’t have a talent problem. They have workflows and tools working against their teams.”

Drawing on a decade of research and two decades of consulting, Klaiber reframes Jobs’s methods into a toolkit for leaders under pressure:

• How to isolate true root causes behind performance drag

• Why “can’t” often means “we’ve always done it this way”

• How poor systems quietly create the illusion of bad people

The book arrives as CEOs face mounting pressure to cut costs and recover margins — often defaulting to layoffs. Klaiber says many of those cuts are preventable if leaders first diagnose the invisible friction their teams face.

“Companies are solving symptoms with layoffs,” he adds. “But the disease is often architectural.”

Making Things Better is not a biography — it’s a systems manual drawn from one. Klaiber turns Apple’s most pivotal comeback into a diagnostic guide for any organization struggling to deliver results without burning through people.

The book is now available in print and digital formats at major retailers.
https://www.makingmyworldbetter.com/book/fix-whats-broken.html#