99 essays
Executives say AI saves them hours a week; staff say it saves nothing. That gap measures how well bad news travels upward in a business, not the tool.
T-shaped hiring assumed humans did the work. Now that AI does the first pass, hire people who can frame problems, direct systems and judge the output.
Musk's five-step algorithm says automate last. With AI agents the first four steps matter even more: automation amplifies whatever process it's given.
AI watermarks are about to make workplace AI use checkable. Why stigma and snitch culture slow AI adoption — and why openness beats detection at work.
I backed servant leadership in 2010 and I still do. But "How can I help?" needs a boundary, or helping ends up meaning you own someone else's problem.
Ten articles on Gerber's E-Myth, condensed into one practical read: capability maps, role specifications, governance, and why founders now stay close.
1,300 people found faults in a real Monet because they were asked to find them. Why asking for feedback often creates the problems it seems to reveal.
The New York Fed says remote work, not AI, explains most graduate unemployment. The accidental apprenticeship has gone — here's how to rebuild it now.
Most AI adoption just speeds up work that shouldn't exist. Drucker wrote the test for this back in 1963 — AI has finally made the answer cheap to get.
Execution discipline is just the order you do things in. Why most owner-operators lose the sequence, and three practical things worth doing this week.
Your AI strategy is probably theatre, and your employees see straight through it. That visibility is a real cost, in trust, credibility, and adoption.
AI adoption is a people problem, not a tools one. A practical guide to getting your whole team using AI without panic: boring pilots, safety, buddies.
Counter-dependency is a liability in friendship but an asset in business. Why the trait that holds people at arm's length can be a career-making edge.
An AI agent can do the job but it can't be answerable for it. Why agents aren't a staffing strategy, and four questions to ask before delegating work.
Consultants tell owners to delegate and step back. Chesky's hands-on Airbnb just posted 18% growth — the instinct to stay close to the work was right.
Knowledge work is shifting from doing to triage: approve, redirect, audit. Gerber saw this coming, and AI has made it impossible to keep deferring it.
The AI and jobs panic points at the bottom rung. The real squeeze is in the middle, the reskilling remedy is hollow, and much of it is simply theatre.
Growth doesn't kill small businesses on a bad idea. It exposes operational debt — and it breaks in a predictable order. Here's how to get ahead of it.
When owners feel overwhelmed, a senior hire looks like the fix. Usually it's a process failure in disguise, so diagnose the breakdown before you hire.
Deep work sprints make founders better at being indispensable. The discipline that matters makes you less essential — and that's the old E-Myth point.
GitLab's restructuring spends $35m turning a 2,500-person business into 60 small teams. Small firms already have that shape. Here's how to keep yours.
Anthropic's Claude for Small Business is the best AI-employees pitch yet. But it can't define your work for you, and that was always the real barrier.
Being needed built the business. Around twenty people, it starts to cap growth. How to audit your week and choose what genuinely needs your judgement.
AI's real return isn't automating tasks. It removes the coordination tax of meetings, briefings and approvals — the saving an ROI dashboard won't see.
Polling, focus groups and customer feedback have weakened just as the alternatives got cheap. Why opinions aren't data, and what to do about that now.
93% of AI spend lands on infrastructure, 7% on people. Why the unphotogenic work of retraining people around AI is where the real value actually sits.
Amazon cut 14,000 jobs citing AI, then Pinterest and HP. The real squeeze lands on middle management, not entry level — and on the trust trap beneath.
Corporate reskilling programmes have never worked at scale. The evidence is clear, the timelines impossible, and the honest conversation long overdue.
One in five companies have stopped hiring graduates because of AI. The real cost is a missing generation of leaders who never learnt the fundamentals.
Forget workflows — AI agents run decision loops. Map where autonomous cycles belong inside your business, and you will outpace everyone else doing it.
85% of enterprises want agentic AI but 76% lack the operational foundation. Why process visibility matters more than model capability.
Frequent AI use rose again in Q4, but the real story is where it becomes habitual. That is where management, review and workflow design matter.
AI makes tasks faster, but 77% of workers say it's increased their workload. The acceleration trap is real — and it's a management problem to solve.
The E-Myth series finale. Gerber said build the system and step back. When the system thinks for itself, stepping back isn’t freedom — it’s neglect.
Capability maps, bounded intelligence, placement decisions — what building an AI-first business operating system looks like over twelve months.
Systems don't fail dramatically in AI-first firms. They drift quietly until intent and reality diverge. The founder's irreducible role is stewardship.
AI agents aren't replacing software. They're bypassing it entirely — and most organisations won't notice until the damage is done.
AI lets small firms scale output without adding headcount. But scaling decisions without scaling governance creates drift. Here is the design problem.
Takeaways from The E-Myth: how to decide where judgement belongs in your business, clarify roles, and build systems that actually work.
Job descriptions assume humans fill gaps. Bounded intelligence specifications don't. Here's the mechanics of delegation that works.
Your AI agent will ruthlessly optimise any metric you set — including the loopholes you didn't see. Goodhart's law and the AI governance trap most teams miss.
Procedures scale humans. Policies scale AI systems. The franchise model breaks when consistency comes from intent, not scripts.
Task-masking isn't laziness. It's rational behaviour in systems that reward activity over outcomes. AI removes the last places it hides.
Org charts show who reports to whom. Capability maps show where decisions actually happen. In AI-first businesses, only one reveals how work gets done
The businesses that will have AI-literate workforces aren't waiting for someone to train them. They're building the capability themselves.
Gerber's technician, manager, and entrepreneur personas hold up. But they no longer map to people — they map to capability layers in AI-first firms.
Gerber taught founders to replace themselves with systems and people. AI changes what that means. Here's where the original insight breaks.
Knowledge used to be scarce and valuable. Now it's instant and free. The real question: how well can you think when knowing is cheap?
UK productivity lags because management capability is poor. The pipeline that should fix this has two choke points—and both are broken wide open.
Companies adding AI to old structures fail. Learn why organisations must be redesigned around AI—not just enabled by it—to gain exponential advantage.
Companies think they're using AI by prompting ChatGPT. They're wrong. The real transformation happens when AI stops waiting to be asked.
AI is absorbing the coordination half of management and leaving the leadership half. How companies are implementing that shift with today's tools.
Learn to distinguish AI capability from expensive theatre. Six practical skills every manager needs to make better AI decisions and avoid costly mistakes.
Angela Rayner's resignation proves it: 'I followed advice' isn't an excuse. Why leaders must own their decisions in the age of AI and advisers.
Why an AI-first strategy is essential for business leaders to boost productivity, competitiveness, and future-proof growth
AI adoption isn't just technical—it's human. Learn how to support five distinct groups in your organisation's AI journey with practical, empathetic strategies.
Why every manager needs an operating manual: Make expectations clear, reduce friction, and help your team succeed from day one. Includes template tips.
A deeper dive into why modern business doesn’t just tolerate incompetence—it actively rewards it. How the “Business Idiot” has replaced the Peter Principle.
Marketing is stuck in a cycle of inexperience and self-indulgence. Can AI disrupt the industry's reliance on cheap talent and drive real results?
Explore the essential role of a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) in differentiating SMEs in the market, offering customers compelling reasons to choose your business.
Explore the power of personifying company values for a robust culture with practical insights on implementing the 'GARTH' and 'CLARA' models
Explore the importance of honouring notice periods and the lasting impact of integrity in the workplace
Discover why rethinking is key for small business success. Embrace adaptability and innovation to stay competitive. Read more for practical tips.
Navigate the complexities of small business growth with the Ansoff Matrix. Learn to choose the right strategy for market penetration, product development, market expansion, and diversification. Make informed decisions aligned with your business goals
Unlock the potential of service innovation for your small business. Discover actionable strategies, the role of AI, and how to measure success effectively
Discover how curiosity fuels innovation in business. Learn practical steps to cultivate an innovative mindset for meaningful growth and success.
Explore the distinction between goals and tasks, and discover how the OKR framework can bridge this gap to boost personal and organisational productivity.
Explore the enduring relevance of Michael Gerber's "The E-Myth Revisited" for modern entrepreneurs while considering updates to adapt it for today's digital and socially-conscious business landscape.
Explore the nuanced role of customer feedback in business. Learn when to seek input for iterative improvements and when to lead with innovation.
Unlock the keys to business excellence with insights from 'Chasing Perfection.' Learn how its principles can transform your SME into a powerhouse
Explore how the Blue Ocean Strategy can revolutionise SMEs by creating new market spaces and unique value. Learn actionable steps to implement this framework for sustainable growth.
Explore the Innovator's Dilemma through the lens of SMEs. Learn why this concept is crucial for smaller firms and discover actionable strategies to navigate the complexities of business innovation
Trust isn't given once — it's built through consistency, honesty and releasing control. How to balance empowerment with accountability.
Between a trigger and your reaction, there's a gap. Learning to find it — and use it — changes how you handle conflict, stress, and difficult conversations.
Better understand the four factors that affect the starting salaries offered to new recruits by any business.
This is a post about meetings - why you want them, how to deliver them better and how to get on top of your day .. meetings are what good leaders do.
We live in an instant-gratification world. Deliberate practice is the lost art, and the only reliable route to getting genuinely good at anything.
Passion is a force-multiplier. It is the difference for World Cup teams like the USAMNT and passion can also make the difference for your business.
Why incompetence persists in business, how organisational systems enable it, and practical steps to stop the cycle and elevate team performance.
Why initiative is declining in business, how it affects performance and culture, and steps leaders can take to spark ownership and proactive action.
How to use the word 'meanwhile' to shift from planning into doing: a simple mental trick that keeps your momentum going and turns ideas into results.
Explore the concept of the non-customer in business — why they matter, how to understand their needs, and ways to unlock new opportunities.
Avoiding the Peter Principle in business: why promotions often lead to incompetence and how changing structure and roles can keep teams capable and effective.
Explore why being willing to rethink and refine your business idea is crucial to success — how passion and conviction must be balanced with flexibility to pivot when assumptions don’t hold
Why competition matters in business, how it shapes strategy and performance, and practical insights on competing smarter, not just harder.
How “Generation F” – people raised with social networks – are reshaping work expectations, collaboration, hierarchy and leadership in modern businesses.
Reacting is instinctive. Responding is deliberate. The gap between the two determines how well you handle pressure, conflict, and change.
Why “people work” isn’t just HR jargon: how meaningful work, structure, and development drive engagement, performance, and real business results
Why journaling helps business leaders and managers, with tips on reflection, clarity, decision-making, and improving how you lead and work.
Why small business is like a Viking ship: everyone rows.
Clients or customers? The word you choose sets expectations on both sides and shapes the kind of business you build. Here's how to pick the right one.
Why “busy work” feels productive but often isn’t, how to spot it, and ways to focus on work that truly drives results and progress.
What servant leadership is, why it boosts team trust and performance, and how leading by serving transforms culture and long-term success.
Practical tips for hiring effective salespeople — what to look for, what to avoid, and how to improve your sales hiring process
What truly motivates employees — why purpose, autonomy and trust matter more than perks and incentives for lasting engagement
Management tip: “trust but verify.” How to build trust with your team while maintaining accountability and healthy performance checks.
Why prima donnas can harm your business, how to spot them, and practical steps to build a team rooted in collaboration, respect, and results.
Focus on real business value, not trivial tasks. Why big-picture priorities drive growth and how to stop getting lost in minutiae.
A simple but overlooked factor behind job satisfaction — why meaning matters more than perks, pay, or vanity goals