Bite Sized Business Tips
2 minute reads for the values-led business leader
Snippets for purpose and values-led business leaders about meeting our responsibilities to our team, customers, owners, communities and suppliers. Context is everything, so these aren't dogma - rather a stimulus for thought. Subscribe below.
Subscribe
The list is not the thing
Lists are the most underused and undervalued weapon in building companies and bringing control to them. I use them (with a particular structure) for executing strategy, for managing improvements to a company, for monitoring its health, and to manage operational pulse – the four process layers in our Build on ...
The dullest word. Structure.
Brilliant ideas are what separate great CEOs from average ones.Not.Most CEOs, and most often founder CEOs, are the visionaries in their companies. And for good reason - it takes some form of vision to start a company in the first place.But most new companies go to ground within the first ...
“We take off 3% before we’ve even started” – Laura Hannan of Pitch121
Every so often, your company may donate to charity. And that's fantastic. But what if you committed to give 3% of your sales revenue come what may?Including if you were making a loss?Brave? Foolhardy? Or simply committed to do good?It might even make you think about your business differently.In this ...
Debates aren’t to win – they’re to learn
One of the most unspoken pressures I see in CEOs comes from the feeling that you need to have the answers.You're the boss. People turn to you for an answer. You give it.The challenge is that if it's as linear as that - if people look to you for an ...
Where’s “happy” in your strategy?
If you're running a company, and especially if you're running a company you founded, I have one question for you. Why are you doing it? Seriously. Why do you do what you do? What are your top 1,2 or 3 reasons? If high up in your reasons you don't have ...
“You’re not eating chocolate. You’re eating sugar” – Nirali and Jag of Superfoodio
Pleasure, people and planet. Is that the tagline for a new line of eco-friendly 18-30 holidays?Not exactly. Pleasure, people and planet comprise the driving mission behind Superfoodio, the wife-and-husband founded ethical plant-based treats company.In this episode of the Karmic Capitalist, I talk to Jag and Nirali about their journey from ...
The squirrel’s guide to making your strategic goals happen
What can a squirrel tell us about meeting our strategic goals? (Stay with me - this isn't a post to just get pictures of a squirrel onto my blog - honest!) I don't know about your garden, but in mine, we have strategic geniuses for squirrels. And I was handed ...
Why does your company exist? And why you should care
Why does your company exist? Really. Aside from you, who'd miss it if it disappeared tomorrow? Your team will find other jobs. Your customers other suppliers. Welcome to the world of purpose. If the key impact your company is having is to increase your bank balance (and even then, only ...
Controlling your business as it scales is about letting go
So often in businesses that are scaling up, CEOs feel like they don't have control (even if they don't admit it). And their instinctive response is precisely the wrong one.Controlling more.Scaling a business is about scaling the people within it. Your business scales when your people (including you) do.What does ...
Recession if you have a conscience AND run a business
"Do you think we're about to go into recession? How's that going to impact?" I've been getting asked this a lot by the owners and CEOs of companies I work and interact with. And honestly, if the professionals in the FT can't consistently call it, I'm pretty confident I can't ...
Is your leadership team’s lack of discipline entirely their fault?
One of the most common reasons companies stall or plateau is a leadership team that doesn't follow through on its commitments. Let me be clear - everyone needs to be responsible for their actions (or inaction). So what I'm about to say isn't to absolve individuals of their responsibility. Buuuuuuut ...
Is all growth good?
Is a lack of growth failure?I find it fascinating that when I've asked a CEO why their business exists, or why they founded it, no one ever says "to grow it".It's always about something they saw that needed fixing, or an opportunity to take something they're good at and do ...