Learn how to build a brilliant business
Build is my free fortnightly email newsletter for founders building resilient and sustainable businesses. It features insights, techniques & thinking for navigating the ups and downs of the growth journey.
Build #41 – FOMO, decision-making and failing on culture
Here are three things I spotted recently for founders in scaling businesses to think about: 1. Zola’s decision-making methodOften when debating decisions extroverts tend to … Read More
Build #40 – the two types of problems for growth businesses
Founders are natural problem solvers. Creating a business from nothing means spotting and solving problems, over and over again. In my work, I often talk … Read More
Build #39 – leading, urgency and restructuring
I’ve got three things I spotted recently for founders in scaling businesses: 1. Reorganisations aren’t the answer Colin Mulholland explains why the restructure is often the … Read More
Build #38 – The joy of work
I’m collaborating with a co-founder on a new venture. It’s been a while since I’ve spent time at this formative stage of a business…thrashing out … Read More
Build #37 – Teams, bonding and zombies
Last week’s fungi-related ponderings elicited a good few suggestions about personal consumption of mushrooms, alongside the more usual work-related responses I tend to get. Today I bring … Read More
Build #36 – Being more mycelium
Late Autumn is my favourite time of year to get out running in the woods near our house. I love the combo of the near … Read More
Build #35 – WTF is an operating model?
I tried googling to learn about operating models. I waded through the hundreds of complicated consultants’ charts that said so little in so many slides. … Read More
Build #33 – Grow your company like it’s time to sell (even if you’re not selling)
I was chatting with a founder friend recently. He’s been running his tech product business for more than a decade now and it’s doing ok. … Read More
Build #32 – Ten questions for founders
Last month I spent five days on a coaching course, developing my skills in that side of my work. Self-reflection is a big part of … Read More
Where do brilliant teams come from?
If we look at the great teams in the worlds of sport and business, it’s clear they don’t happen by accident. Creating a team that’s … Read More
Pastiche in business
I had an initial conversation with a founder recently that stuck with me. The founder told me in detail about the company they were creating. … Read More
How role definition drives growth
This month I’ve been working on an interesting project helping a business define roles. For start-ups moving into a scaling phase, founders often wrestle with … Read More
What I really learnt then
Twelve months ago I left behind the relative comfort of being part of a business leadership team and the monthly salary that came with it … Read More
Books for leaders – my recommendations
I read a lot of business books. I’ve read some that were instantly forgettable. Yet some are so thought provoking and useful that I refer … Read More
Congruence is underrated
Many founders see themselves as visionaries. They hold their ambition for the future they will create and are strongly driven to bring it into reality. … Read More
There’s no such thing as a growth hack
Recently a client told me I have a “no such thing as a growth hack” speech. She explained that on several occasions, I’ve pushed back … Read More
The real role of leaders
Over the past five months I’ve interviewed more than 50 founders in scaling businesses for a project I’m working on. As I review the interview … Read More
Holding to account
I’ve been working with a product scale-up business to create the conditions for a culture of greater accountability in their business. In one conversation we … Read More
The craft of company building
This year I’ve interviewed more than 50 founders about their experiences building businesses through the seed and series A stages. I’ve been struck by two … Read More
Working with organisational debt
Technologists often talk about technical debt. It’s the accumulation over time of decisions that prioritise short term speed over well-designed code. Technical debt isn’t always … Read More
Ultra running & leading scale-ups
Last weekend I finished my first 50 mile ultra run. With 4000 metres of climbing and a lot of mud in England’s Lake District, it … Read More
How can founders get people to do what they need them to do?
I’ve been speaking to a lot of founders in scaling businesses recently. When they talk about challenges they face, they often talk about a common … Read More
Designing leadership teams in scaling businesses
“What’s the right structure for my leadership team?” This is one of the most common question I come across in conversations with founders who are … Read More
Systems thinking in scaling business
Systems thinking is a way of thinking about your business. It helps leaders better understand their organisation and how to maximise their impact. I’ve spent … Read More
Founder to CEO?
Great founders don’t necessarily make great CEOs. Being deliberate about founder role transitions is often overlooked in scaling businesses. Growing a business means getting comfortable … Read More
Escape from firefighting
Firefighting. Fire drills. Chaos. Pulled from pillar to post. Overwhelmed. I hear those words a lot in my conversations with founder CEOs in growth businesses. … Read More
Feeling the mountain
Recently I was talking with Lesley – a ski instructor – about her work helping people improve their skiing. She talked about the importance of … Read More
Deciding on deciding
Businesses run on decisions. They control the flow of work in your business. Paying attention to how and when they’re made as well as who … Read More
Process isn’t boring
Working with process gets a bad press in many creative businesses. Process work is stereotyped as stifling creativity and restricting individual autonomy. Laying out processes … Read More
Mise en place
Chefs know a lot goes into making consistently good restaurant food. Each dish is a detailed, time-critical project with high quality thresholds. Dishes need to … Read More
Lenses and mirrors in decision making
A colleague recently told me I was obsessed with lenses. Apparently I say a lot of things like: Ignoring my clumsy verbal constructs, I realised … Read More
Scaling leadership
As businesses grow, what they need from their leaders changes. Separating personal and business needs when thinking about this is hard, but important. A conversation … Read More
Building businesses with accountability
A lot’s talked in business about accountability, yet few people think about what it means. And plenty of people tie themselves in metaphorical knots. They … Read More
Pacing your business
Every business has a pace it can sustain indefinitely. Leaders need to find that pace and intentionally influence it as the business grows. Last weekend … Read More
Reducing friction
If you leave a boat in seawater for too long, barnacles will start attaching and growing. They glue themselves to the hull of your boat … Read More
Power in scaling businesses
Power tripping. Power games. Power hungry. All too often we talk about power negatively in businesses. But how we can use power to achieve growth … Read More
The value of organisation
How your business is organised is at the core of creating sustainable growth. It probably needs more focus than you give it. Businesses are usually … Read More
The starting line
I’m driven by a belief that there’s always a better way to do things. That passion extends to the puzzle of how we can best … Read More
