We’ve been forced into an opportunity. Top of mind for every CEO is team, then cash flow. Maintain sales and payment, and control cost. Rightly so. No cash flow, no business. But unless you’re planning to rebuild a business that just goes from hand to mouth, you also need to be thinking about strategy. And […]
This time may be testing your values
What does a values-led business do in the current climate? Well, it can do a lot actually. Reach out to clients to deepen relationships rather than transact. Explore how to provide stability for its workforce through times of volatility. Honour its suppliers where it can, or find ways to minimise pain if it can’t. Think […]
Making commitments is easy. Delivering them, not so much.
A diversified portfolio is a really bad idea when it comes to strategic initiatives. A big part of my work is helping SMEs and scale-ups turn their vision, values and strategies into reality. How do we take a list of goals, or our grand vision, or what we say we stand for, and turn it […]
Leaders grow fastest in service of something far bigger than themselves
My times of most significant growth at work always came when I was serving something bigger. Turning around a very dispirited team, the most obvious thing for me was to put myself in their service. And to do it in action, not just in words. It wasn’t some grand sacrifice – it was simply what […]
When is it enough?
One of the truly beautiful consequences of building a company serving a purpose bigger than itself is that the enormity of the mission can free you from unhealthy personal or financial ambition. When you build with a deep rooted desire to make a difference, a dent in something you care deeply about, then having more […]