As the year draws to a close, the nights are still drawing in and it’s traditionally time for plans and budgets for 2026.
If your ambition is to grow beyond the £10million glass ceiling, you may need to think about doing things differently next year. As Marshall Goldsmith says, “What got you here won’t get you there”
That’s because £10 million is a big tipping point for leaders. Founders who have got this far as generalists need to make the transition from hand-on roles to empowering a senior team with specialist skills. Operational systems need to replace the informal controls that were fine when operating on a smaller scale. You need to scale your finance and HR to scale your business. Growing your team may dilute your company culture so you will need deliberate strategies to maintain corporate values. And wholesale growth may require taking on external finance and/or strategic partners who will want a say in ‘your’ business.
It’s time to move from founder hustle to leadership structure because you are probably the bottleneck limiting growth. Your informal processes may be breaking down as your team encounters new situations or decisions are more important so they can no longer rely on just their gut. You may be too busy hustling to take advantage of opportunities. You may be bogged down in compliance issues. And rapid growth often leads to cash flow strain.
Instead, you need to invest in finance systems that will scale with you and provide essential management information. When you can’t be everywhere at once you need to have good numbers to show what is happening beyond your immediate field of vision. You need financial systems that will allow you to forecast reliably, or as reliably as possible, without a crystal ball. This includes forecasting cashflow requirements and keeping a firm grasp on your cash management.
You will also need good operating systems that use automation as far as possible and formalised SOPs (standard operating procedures). These will ensure that the business can repeatedly deliver to the same high standards.
And you will need good people systems with HR frameworks to recruit, onboard, and retain the best people who are the best fit for your organisation. You will need to invest in leadership development to take your current team to the next level, as their roles are enhanced in the bigger business. You may even need to replace some of them with people more comfortable operating at this level. And you will need succession planning to ensure that your business can allow individuals to grow into bigger roles or to leave the business without a negative impact.
So what does all that really look like?
Start by auditing your current systems to find the cracks. What wouldn’t happen if you or other key staff were on holiday or suddenly ill? How vulnerable is your current technology?
Invest in scaleable technology that can grow with you. ERP (enterprise resource planning) software will help to streamline your core business processes such as finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain management, and sales. No more separate systems held together with sticky tape but a single source of truth. This should include an effective CRM (customer relationship management) system and modern finance tools.
You will need to build a solid leadership team that can run independently of you and make good decisions in line with the business strategy without needing to be micromanaged. In order to do this, you will also need to codify your company culture and values. The things that you do instinctively must become part of all your systems.
Looking ahead to £50 million, your system will form the bridge. A sturdy, reliable bridge that allows your team to move forward in confidence. With this bridge in place, your leaders will have reliable information and good forecasting to facilitate strategic thinking. They will move away from hands on operations and start to create opportunities rather than reacting to circumstances.
Systems beat hustle every time. Scaling is about putting in place a solid structure and not just effort.
If your business is approaching the £10 million level, then now is the time to up your game by investing in systems that will carry you to £50 million and beyond. Because systems trump hustle.
