This article is by Karsten Smet, CEO at ACI Group
UK SME Leadership Strategy: Making the Jump from Corporate to Founder
After more than 20 years in senior leadership roles within large organisations, I thought I had a solid grasp of what good leadership looked like. Moving into a family-run SME turned that assumption upside down.
The shift forced me to rethink how I make decisions, approach risk, and build culture, often in ways my corporate career hadn’t prepared me for. The experience reshaped both my leadership style and the direction of the SME I was running.
From global corporates to a family-run SME
My career took me through companies such as Microsoft, Rackspace and Barclaycard. I enjoyed the scale and complexity of global organisations, but over time, the pace and priorities of corporate life began to feel misaligned with what I wanted next. I had achieved the milestones I set early on, yet I missed the direct link between decisions and outcomes.
In large businesses, impact is often diluted by layers of process. No matter how senior the title, in large corporations, there was always someone else to answer to: an investor, a vice-president, a chief executive. I wanted to feel closer to the results of my work.
That gap ultimately led me to ACI Group, a global distributor of speciality ingredients, which had been founded, led and sold by my father. We decided to buy the business back, and I took on the role of CEO. The shift for me personally was immediate. Decisions were faster, hierarchies flatter, and accountability was unavoidable. If something wasn’t working, we could change it quickly.
What big businesses don’t teach you
Even though I was familiar with the business before I became CEO, joining an SME was eye-opening. In large organisations, you operate within established frameworks, with clear processes and defined ownership. In an SME, you are often creating those frameworks as you go, while still running the day-to-day business.
As we prepared for an acquisition and looked at how to strengthen our use of technology, it became clear that experience alone wasn’t enough. I needed a deeper understanding of how the moving parts of an SME fit together. When you’ve held C-suite roles, you’re rarely required to explain every decision in detail. In a smaller business, transparency, clarity and adaptability are essential.
That realisation led me to the Help to Grow: Management Course at Brunel University. I was looking for practical knowledge and insight to help bridge the gap between corporate experience and the realities of leading a fast-growing SME.
Learning to lead differently
I joined the course expecting to refine my management skills. What I found instead was a programme that challenged how I thought about strategy, communication and leadership. The course challenged my thinking in several ways: Sharpening focus on priorities and goals.
As a result of my experience of the course, the management team and I revisited the fundamentals of the business. Rather than making incremental adjustments, we stepped back and questioned how we operated, how we communicated, and where we wanted to go. Hearing from peers facing similar challenges, alongside guidance from tutors and mentors, helped me reflect more honestly on what was working and what wasn’t.
One early exercise involved reducing a detailed 40-page business plan into a single-page summary of priorities and goals. That discipline transformed how I communicate strategy with both investors and the team.
Adopting a concise plan-on-a-page approach changed how I approached strategy. I applied my learnings to align strategy with the culture, retention and tools ACI used across the business. It gave everyone a clearer line of sight between long-term objectives and day-to-day decisions.
Establishing a culture that works
In large organisations, culture is often used to guide behaviour at scale. I’ve seen companies promote intense commitment and long hours under the banner of shared values. In an SME, culture plays a different role. It sits at the core of how the business operates, how it is perceived externally, and how people work together day to day.
Get it wrong, and the impact is immediate. Get it right, and it becomes a unifying force that supports growth. In a smaller business, culture is shaped daily by leadership decisions, with very little distance between intent and outcome.
Approaching risk in a smaller business
Large organisations tend to reward risk avoidance. The safest option is often to protect the status quo and stay within accepted norms. In an SME, that approach doesn’t always hold. Progress often depends on taking considered risks and being willing to test different ways of working.
The impact of the changes I made after the Help to Grow: Management Course has been clear. ACI Group’s turnover grew from £11 million in 2022 to a projected £16 million this year, our valuation doubled, and the business received several industry awards, including Thames Valley SME of the Year 2023.
On a personal level, the shift has been just as important. Rethinking my approach to leading a growing SME has allowed me to build a more flexible, family-friendly working culture and spend time with my children in a way that simply wasn’t possible in my corporate years.
FAQs: UK SME Leadership Strategy
How can a UK SME prepare for an acquisition this year?
Preparation involves strengthening technology, ensuring financial transparency, and moving from complex, multi-page business plans to a concise “plan-on-a-page.” This clarity makes the business more attractive to investors by showing a direct link between strategy and day-to-day operations.
What are the differences between corporate and SME leadership?
Corporate leadership often focuses on risk avoidance and operating within established frameworks. SME leadership requires creating those frameworks from scratch, embracing considered risks, and maintaining a much closer relationship between executive decisions and operational outcomes.
How does the Help to Grow: Management Course benefit founders?
The course provides practical knowledge and mentorship that helps founders bridge the gap between technical expertise and strategic management. It encourages leaders to step back from the “day-to-day” to focus on high-impact goals, such as culture, retention, and scaling turnover.
How did ACI Group double its valuation?
By refining their UK SME leadership strategy through the Help to Grow programme, ACI Group aligned their culture with modern tools and streamlined its communication. This led to a turnover growth from £11m to £16m and several prestigious industry awards.
Why is culture different in an SME compared to a large corporation?
In an SME, culture is shaped daily by the founder’s decisions with very little distance between intent and result. Unlike corporate values that guide behaviour at scale, SME culture is a unifying force that directly impacts growth, retention, and the ability to pivot quickly.