I was talking recently to a newly promoted manager in a business of about 20 people - a typical SME in many ways. She’s been with the company for years, knows the MD well, and had just stepped up from the shop floor into her first leadership role. We got chatting...
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...
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 - about how any...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 understanding where you...
The post transition reality check Transitioning to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) often feels to the new co-owners like crossing the finish line. The legal work is done, the financials are sorted, and the company is in the hands of the people who helped build it....
Any committee that is the slightest use is composed of people who are too busy to want to sit on it for a second longer than they have to. - Katharine Whitehorn We’ve all been there: the meeting that drags on endlessly, achieves little, and leaves everyone wondering...
Find out how to create and manage a brilliant culture that underpins a truly successful growing business.
Find out how to create and manage a brilliant culture that underpins a truly successful growing business.