by Kate Mercer | May 21, 2025 | Organisation Culture
When founders talk about culture change, they often start with good intentions. They want to build something more grown-up, more values-led, less reactive. More like the business they thought they were building in the first place. So they look for a structured...
by Kate Mercer | May 21, 2025 | Leadership
Who are you, really? This morning, if you slept well, just a few seconds before waking up, still within your dreams, you had no idea of who you were and who you were going to be today. For some moments just before and just after waking up, you had some blessed time of...
by Kate Mercer | May 7, 2025 | Organisation Culture
When you hear “employee ownership,” you might picture endless meetings, decisions made by committee, and a business grinding slowly to a halt. In reality, the best EO (employee-owned) businesses show us something very different – and very valuable...
by Kate Mercer | May 7, 2025 | Leadership
Who leads in a founder-owned business? The answer, more often than not, is simple: the founder. “So what’s wrong with that?” you might ask. Well – nothing, to begin with. But over time, it becomes one of the biggest hidden risks in growing businesses: leadership...
by Kate Mercer | Apr 29, 2025 | Organisation Culture, Team Development
You’ve built a solid business. The product works. The clients are happy. The numbers are moving in the right direction. From the outside, it’s going well. So why does it feel harder than it should? The team’s not quite coming together the way you hoped. You’re seeing...
by Kate Mercer | Apr 18, 2025 | Leadership
You’ve got the vision. You’ve got the drive. You’ve got the track record of building something brilliant, so why does it feel like such hard work now? Why do you still find yourself picking up the dropped balls, trying to untangle misunderstandings, or wondering why...
by Kate Mercer | Apr 18, 2025 | Organisation Culture
Well…? Thought so. Now, give this a go. Forget your to-do list for a moment, and don’t bother hunting for your job description. Instead, write down off the top of your head up to five things you must deliver for your business to succeed. Not tasks. Not...
by Kate Mercer | Mar 30, 2025 | Organisation Culture
Maintaining productivity & performance in an employee-owned business Can an employee-owned business stay competitive? One of the biggest concerns for founders considering employee ownership is whether it will affect business performance. Will employees maintain...
by Kate Mercer | Mar 30, 2025 | Organisation Culture
One of the biggest misconceptions about Employee Ownership (EO) is that it’s simply a change in the ownership structure of your business. But EO isn’t just a legal shift – it’s a shift in how decisions are made, how employees engage with the business, and what...
by Kate Mercer | Mar 19, 2025 | Organisation Culture
I first learned about these “operating states of an organisation” years ago. I’ve recently been reminded of them as I am in a stage of reformulating my own business. These principles are among the most effective frameworks I’ve encountered for...
