"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." Ben Stein Most business owners can...
Is Your Business Still Taking You Where You Want To Go?
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Leadership
The Cost of Flying Blind
"What gets measured gets managed." Peter Drucker Imagine you are the pilot about to fly a long haul flight. The pilots don't calculate the route...
The Most Dangerous Plan In Your Business
In May, AFC Bournemouth achieved something remarkable. A club with one of the smallest budgets in the Premier League secured European football for...
Your Business Doesn’t Need More From You
Over the last few weeks, we’ve explored a pattern that many growing businesses quietly experience. Not a lack of demand Not a lack of ambition Not...
The Most Expensive Decision You Make Under Pressure
There’s a sentence that appears in almost every growing business eventually. Usually said under pressure. Usually said when everyone feels...
Growth Can Expose Weaknesses You Couldn’t Previously See
Next month will mark our tenth anniversary of moving to live in Portugal. In that time, we have seen how seriously forest management is taken...
You’re Not Overworked, You’re Misallocated
Last week I started with a simple question: “How are things?” With, for many of us, the most common answer being “Busy. I’m not sure exactly why.”...
What Do You Really Mean When You Say “Busy”?
“Being busy is a form of laziness — lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.” Tim Ferriss “How are things?” We get asked this question all the...
You Don’t Need More Clients—You Need Better Pricing
Over the past month, I’ve written about pricing from four different angles.Not as a calculation, but as something far more influential: A reflection...
The Most Expensive Decision You’re Not Making
By now, you probably don’t need convincing. Over the past few weeks, we’ve looked at pricing from different angles. Not as maths, but as: ...
Five Signs Your Pricing Needs to Change
By now, you probably don’t need convincing. You know pricing isn’t just maths. You know it shapes perception. You know it affects the...
When the World Shakes, Your Cash Flow Speaks
When I finished work last evening I came down to have dinner with my wife and CNN news was on the background. My wife said, “Don’t expect any good...
If You Have to Explain Your Price, It’s Already Too Low
Last week, we looked at why most businesses undercharge. Not because of strategy, but because of protection and lack of confidence. This week, we...
Apple Didn’t Wait to Be Valuable, They Priced Like It
There’s a quiet belief that sits underneath most founder-led businesses, which rarely gets said out loud. But it shows up everywhere. In...
The Margin Leak You Can’t See in Your Accounts
Across March I’ve been exploring the idea of operational debt. The small compromises businesses make over time that quietly accumulate friction....
Operational Debt and the Cost of Doing Nothing
Over the past few weeks we’ve been exploring the idea of operational debt, the small compromises businesses make over time that quietly accumulate...
Operational Debt: When the Founder Is Still Cooking Every Dish
Last week I introduced the concept of operational debt, explaining that the small compromises businesses make over time that slowly add friction to...
Operational Debt and the Boiling Frog Problem
Across February I spoke about cash. Not how to make more of it. But as a first step, how to see it more clearly. When you can see your cash...
How Cash Clarity Changes Decisions
During February I have talked about: Why cash is a system Why guessing creates pressure Why weekly cadence replaces assumption This week ties this...
Ten Minutes That Prevent Surprises
I wrote last week about guessing, explaining how the majority of cash stress doesn’t come from recklessness, and how to gain knowledge by...
Stop Guessing About Cash
Last week, I talked about Moneyball. How the Oakland A’s stopped trusting instinct alone and built systems that showed what actually influenced...
Moneyball Thinking for Cash Flow
For years, professional sports teams were run on instinct. Managers trusted what they could see: how a player looked, how confident they felt, ...
Most Stress Comes from Re-deciding The Same Things under Pressure
By the end of January, you may be feeling one of two things. Either: over-planned and slightly boxed in, or under-planned and quietly uneasy Neither...
Choosing Less Is a Strategic Skill
Steve Jobs is mostly remembered for what he built, and likely much less so for what he deliberately killed. When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the...