Running a company takes courage, determination and mental resilience. Yet the very qualities that help entrepreneurs build a business often hold back its further development. In this article I describe the 13 most common challenges facing SME owners, which I see in consultations, in mentoring and in my work with companies in different industries. I also show specific ways of dealing with each of them.

Many leaders assume that a strong organisational culture automatically translates into higher profits. Research, however, paints a more complex picture. Does culture create results, or do good results make it possible to build a better culture? In this article I analyse the arguments for and against, and show why fitting the culture to the strategy may matter more than how "high" the organisational culture is in itself.

Most companies do not fail because they cannot see their problems. They fail because they react to them too late. Find out why change management is today one of the most important skills a business owner can have, how to overcome your own resistance and your team's, and how to carry out changes that genuinely improve business results.

In more than 34 years of working as a CEO, consultant and mentor, I have looked for ways of developing my own creativity. Some of them seem unusual: travel, self-reflection, writing humorous pieces, talking to people from outside my industry and, recently, using AI as an intellectual sparring partner. In this article I show what neurobiological mechanisms lie behind these habits and how every leader can create their own system for stimulating creative thinking.

Does all the value a company creates really serve people? Find out how to bring together a leader's life mission, the company's mission and values, and value for the customer, so as to build a lasting business.

Micromanagement rarely stems from bad intentions. Most often it is the result of a lack of trust, a need for control or the belief that only the manager can do the job properly. The trouble is that excessive control lowers engagement, holds back employees' development and overloads the leader. How do you recognise micromanagement and replace it effectively with conscious leadership?

A description of how I work with a business client

What are the benefits of outside help for a company? Who should you choose: a trainer, a coach, a mentor or an adviser? How do these forms of support differ? How does using several forms of outside help work, depending on the client's situation?

A practical discussion of the criteria by which a client in need should choose a consulting firm