Writing for CEOs who feel it.
Short, direct essays on the parts of the job nobody briefs you on. No consulting speak. Published here first, then on Substack.
Why is my profitable business running out of cash?
Profit is an opinion. Cash is a fact. If the two are pulling apart, you do not have an accounting problem — you have a velocity problem.
The first 100 days as a new CEO
There is no settling-in period. Forget the listening tour — here is what the hundred days should actually contain, week by week.
Why do transformation programmes fail?
Around 95% deliver nothing of significance. Everyone blames execution. Almost every time, it was misdiagnosis in week one.
How to read a board pack you didn't build
A board pack is not a report. It is an argument, assembled by people with something to protect. The five signals of a curated number.
Signs your business is in trouble before the numbers show it
The P&L is four to eight quarters late. Twelve signals that move first — and most of them are behavioural, not financial.
The CEO playbook does exist
They say you cannot know what you will inherit until you land. I disagree — and I can list what you will find before you walk through the door.
The Undefended CEO
Occasional dispatches for chief executives — what is actually going wrong inside businesses right now, and what to do about it. No sequences, no funnel, no spam.
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