James SummersYou've said it. I've said it. Every founder on LinkedIn has said it. "Our people are our greatest asset." It's on the careers page. It's in the pitch deck. It's the first slide of the induction pack. Here's the uncomfortable truth: your org chart...
James SummersIn 2018 I collapsed in my office, ended up in the Accident & Emergency, and spent three days in a cardiology ward surrounded by people twice my age. What began as a totally unexpected heart attack, later turned out to be an acute heart infection...
James SummersThere's a meeting happening in your business right now. Someone's explaining, calmly, why something went wrong. They've got the evidence. The timeline. The emails. The scorecard, which was, of course, green. And nothing will change...
James SummersI had a five-year plan to leave my business. It took one pint of beer to destroy it. Here's the truth nobody tells you about stepping back: it doesn't happen on your timeline. It happens on your business's timeline. And most founders are decades...
James SummersThere is a moment that defines whether a leadership team is functioning or merely existing. It is brief, unremarkable, and easy to miss. It is the moment someone says, "Yes, I'll get that done." That moment is a contract. Not a vague intention...
James SummersI ask every founder I coach the same question early in our work together. "What's your exit horizon?" “Five years,” they say. Sometimes ten. Occasionally, "I haven't really thought about it," which, if we're being honest, means exactly the same...