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Establishing a regular, reliable rhythm in your business, particularly through effective communication, can be a game-changer when you’re looking to build a high-performing team. In this blog we’re going to explore the benefits of business rhythm and the actionable steps that you, as a successful small business owner, can take

Watching King Charles’ investiture and listening to the promises he made to the people of the UK, got me thinking again about servant leadership. At its core, servant leadership is an approach to leadership that prioritises serving the needs of others and empowering them to achieve their potential. It’s grounded

Greetings entrepreneurs!  I am St. George, the patron saint of England, and I am honoured to share with you some valuable lessons that you, as a business owner, can learn from me – a legendary hero. First and foremost, you must embody unwavering determination. I faced great obstacles and challenges

Ramadan Kareem to you all! Ramadan is a period of reflection and introspection for Muslims the world-over, and the perfect time to develop good habits in life and in business. For me, those good business habits will all come down to having simple, logical and repeatable systems and routines, that

April is Stress Awareness Month and it’s a great reminder of the need to recognise the impact that stress is having on your health and do what you need to do to manage it effectively. As a business owner, you know all too well the pressures that come with running

I think it’s fair to say that there is a significant amount of fatigue around ‘awareness days’ for subjects and issues that should be permanently high on our radar… International Women’s Day, a globally recognised day to celebrate women’s contributions to society and to raise awareness about the various challenges

February 20th is National Love Your Pet Day, and even though I doubt any of us pet owners need a special day to love them, it is pretty great to have a day to celebrate the special bond we have with our furry, feathered, or even scaly friends. It’s an

I know a number of individuals who would equate ‘being a kind leader’ with being a ‘soft’ leader.  But for me, being kind is a hugely important quality for a leader to possess. It’s not about being nice, it’s about having a deep understanding of what leadership is really about,

Could do better?! Do you remember when you were at school and you’d get your end of year report with a little summary from all of the teachers about how you performed?  Maybe, like me, you still have a couple and have a good laugh at them, on the odd

Right now as business owners, we’re all assessing and re-assessing key elements of our operation – from our business model to our marketing, from our team to our own role in the day to day – it’s that time of year. We start to think about what’s worked well, and

In horticulture, this time of year is one for reflection, harvest and protection from the coming elements… The Autumnal equinox in September signifies the start of the seed gathering season where we’re encouraged to forage for seeds, fruit and nuts to plant them under our protection. To nurture them over

The increase in concern over burnout and overwhelm and the breakdown of the work-life balance is very real.   Technology is a double-edged sword; for every advance and for every connection made, for every time zone broken down, we are more available and more accessible than ever. The flip side?

Leadership as loving service? Over the past couple of weeks there’s been an awful lot said about The Queen, about the person behind the throne, about her faith and the impact it had on her daily life, and most relevant to me, about her qualities as a leader – The

Not surprisingly in the current climate there are a lot of posts about leadership on LinkedIn at the moment. Many outline the ‘normal’ traits and behaviours of a leader, things like vision, integrity, empathy, nous, decisiveness. We can all trot them out and they are important traits, don’t get me

“You’re communicating with me way too much,” said no employee to their manager ever. No successful business has ever become successful without great people managers. But how many businesses have lost great people due to a bad one? There are many skills needed by a manager but if you want

One of the biggest lessons learned by many business owners during lockdown, was either that they had too many individuals who were indispensable, or that there were too many tasks that could only be done by one individual – often the business owner themselves. What resulted was at worst, a

Managers – do you listen to audiobooks? Well it’s taken some time, but I’m delighted to tell you that… drum roll… Mission: To Manage is finally available as an audiobook on both Audible UK and Audible US.   I know parents aren’t meant to boast about their children, but I

When systemising and creating ‘one right way’ to do everything in your business, things can start to feel a little repetitive. It’s all very well the idea of having one right way to do everything in your business, but in reality, training the team and new hires in each and

Consistency is a key word in our business, and the achievement of consistency is key to everything we do.   The desire for a consistent operation is the whole reason our clients come to us – the goal of having a consistent operation that runs like clockwork whether they are

Are you proud of your team? Whatever your industry, business or team size, I bet you wouldn’t be where you are now without your wonderful team! Let’s take this opportunity to celebrate and appreciate your people, and in particular our LGBTQ+ team members in honour of Pride month this June.

I may be showing my age here, but back in the day it was a real thing to ‘do a spring clean’.  Some say that it originated in Iran where local people celebrated the new year with a cleaning frenzy known (roughly translated) as ‘shaking the house’!  Others say it

I’m a firm believer in that phrase and it was well illustrated a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not a rugby or football fan please bear with me 🙂 It was watching the Liverpool v Atalanta Champions League game. An Atalanta player fouled an opponent and was being booked

‘5.7 million SMEs generate £2 trillion for the UK economy;  33,860 scaleups contribute £1 trillion of this total!’’ ONS 2020 Staying in startup mode As a small business grows, and employees increase, it’s just not possible for the business owner to sort out all of the problems they face, as

“So your secret weapon when it comes to creating How Tos will be…” If the mention of the word systems has brought you out in hives, fear not!  By the time you’ve read this post you’ll be seeing systems in a different, brighter, much friendlier light. And seeing the creation

I talk a LOT about the need for effective systems in your business. About the benefit of developing them and improving them in collaboration with the people who are going to work with them – and about how McDonald’s have used systems to become one of the most consistent and

Over the last few weeks I’ve been sharing specifics of how to systemise different areas of your business. So this week I thought it may be worth reminding you why you should bother, with my top ten (of the many) benefits of a systemised business! Increased customer loyalty and retention.