F**k Plan B: Build the Company That Runs Without You
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Your hustle got you here. Now it’s holding you back.
Remember when you could have an all staff meeting by just shouting across to the next desk, and the biggest process you had was arguing over who made the tea? Cute. Now it’s meetings that should be emails, a calendar that looks like a sadistic version of Tetris, and every “quick question” is a 45-minute detour from what actually matters.
Here’s the truth: you’re the bottleneck. You’re still trying to coach, play, wash the kit, book the pitch and referee the game while your competitors are sprinting past. Keep it up and you’ll be another exhausted founder footnote.
Most founders don’t make the leap. They stay stuck in the weeds—hiring dramas, messy org charts, endless firefighting. The business runs them, not the other way round.
I’ve scaled two UK firms from zero to 100+ people and £30m revenue in five years. Not because I’m special. I stumbled, cocked things up weekly, and learned the hard way what actually drives growth.
That’s why I wrote F**k Plan B. Not another glossy strategy book to gather dust, but a blunt guide to building a business that scales without you white-knuckling the steering wheel.
If you’ve got 30–100 people and you’re feeling more knackered than confident, this is the book that gets you out of founder mode and into CEO mode—at least some of the time.
Want to know why your business feels stuck? It’s not the market. It’s these six ugly little bastards right here
Kill the stupid rules
Your momentum hasn’t vanished—it’s being slowly strangled by bureaucracy. Pointless meetings. Idiotic expense policies. Processes that add zero value. It’s death by a thousand paper cuts. The fix? A communication rhythm that exposes every “one stupid thing” and kills it fast.
Hire people better than you
Recruitment is a horror show. You either lose stars to the competition or settle for the least-worst option. Enough. Let’s torch the HR fluff—this book gives you a simple, practical way (yes, a framework—stop laughing) to define, attract, and keep the A-Players who’ll make your life infinitely easier.
You’re drowning in nice
Your competitors can copy your features and undercut your price. What they can’t copy is your culture. And no, that’s not free snacks and ping-pong tables. It’s candour, accountability, and obsessive customer focus. Build that, and you’ve got an edge they can’t touch.
Communication isn’t optional
Scale kills communication. Negativity spreads, gossip takes over, and suddenly the rumour mill runs faster than your business. The cure? Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly rhythms. More communication, not less. “Too much” is a myth.
Don’t forget the customer
Lose touch with your customers and you’re finished. Leaders need to speak to customers every single week. No excuses. Otherwise, you’re making sh*t up—and your competitors will thank you for the free wins.
Fire yourself from the day job
Right now, you’re the most stressed, most expensive employee in the building. Every decision still lands on your desk because you haven’t built a team that can stand on its own. This book shows you how to install the systems and accountability needed to let your team actually lead. That leaves you with time to do what you’re meant to be doing – being the CEO. Remember that?
Founders who went all-in
“Focus on priorities drives successful plan A!”
David Howson
President EMEA, Vantage Data Centers
“Finding A-players and removing toxicity was game-changing.”
Hazel Pulley
CEO, Excelsior MAT
“Dominic has insights to help solve challenges!”
Daniel Teacher
Managing Director, T-Tech
Meet Dominic
Dominic Monkhouse isn’t your average business coach. He’s the bloke who scaled two UK firms from 0-100+ and £0-£30m in five years — right through two recessions. Not with corporate waffle or “growth hacks,” but by cutting through the bullshit and doing what actually works. (If only I knew then what I know now!)
Since then, he’s turned 100+ founders into real CEOs, driven 10 exits, and written two books so others stop repeating his mistakes. He also hosts Curious Leadership, where he calls time on the myths and tells it straight about what it really takes to grow at scale.
He doesn’t do fluffy workshops or safe, corporate away-days. He built the Management Lab on his farm in Wiltshire — part boardroom, part bootcamp — where leadership teams get pushed to breaking point, then rebuilt stronger.
He has been called “Britain’s Best Boss” and the Telegraph said he created “the best office in Britain.”
Dominic only works with the 1% of founders willing to go all-in. If you want a cheerleader, look elsewhere. If you want someone to hold your feet to the fire and force you to face the uncomfortable truths of scaling, step forward.
His mission? To take 200 founder-led firms from 50 to 250+ people, creating 300,000 jobs and £52 billion in revenue.
If you’re serious about building a business that runs without you, it starts with one call. If you’re not… crack on with Plan B. Book a call.