Close-up of sad face against pink wall in studio negative

13 bits of dreadful advice for CEOs (and why you should ignore them)

Updated 9 July 2026

Ignore the LinkedIn gurus. Most CEO advice is bollocks. Think clearly, cut crap fast, and build something that actually works.

Focus on what matters written on the road

Why a Target Operating Model is the best tool to focus your team on what matters

Updated 9 July 2026

Endless status updates in exec meetings waste time and value. Focus on what truly drives progress and impact.

Leaders building trust in teams through open discussion

Trust or Bust: Building Real Trust in Your Team

Updated 9 July 2026

Build trust through competence, character and care, then reinforce it with direct conflict, peer accountability and promises visibly kept.

Young professional smiling, representing future AI leaders at Monkhouse & Company.

E350 | A drunk graduate today, a professor by 2030 – where AI is right now, with Daniel Hulme

Published 15 October 2025

Separate genuine intelligence from automation, choose the right AI for each problem and keep risky agents behind tested guardrails.

Monkhouse & Company team enjoying a corporate event at a large indoor venue.

Sun, sweat and scaling up: a week with Smartsourcing

Updated 9 July 2026

A scorching week in Cebu with Smartsourcing: scaling fast and proving culture’s what happens when no one’s watching.

Dominic Monkhouse on founder mode vs manager mode startup leadership

Why founder mode beats manager mode: Redefining start-up leadership

Published 7 October 2025

Founder mode isn’t chaos, it’s clarity. It’s staying close enough to the work to actually know what’s real.

Panel of three professionals discussing fundraising strategies in a challenging market.

E349 | Raising money in a tough market: Lessons from Paul Archer, Jo Saxby and John Readman

Updated 9 July 2026

Prepare for a tough fundraise by choosing suitable investors, sequencing meetings, surviving diligence and deploying capital with intent.

Person writing on a glass board covered with colorful sticky notes.

Why your 32-page strategic plan is bollocks (but this isn’t a silver bullet either)

Updated 9 July 2026

Your 32-page plan is wallpaper. The one-pager? A compass, not a cure-all. Execution beats documents every time.

Illustration of the startup founder's seven-stage growth curve.

There ain’t no party like an S-curve party: Why success is never a straight line

Updated 9 July 2026

Scaling a startup isn’t a straight line. It’s an emotional rollercoaster of chaos, growth, burnout, and reinvention.

Bright yellow sign with "Love to Learn" message on a white wall.

Back to my roots: dyslexia, audiobooks, and why I won’t shut up about education

Updated 9 July 2026

Not all kids need a better attitude. Some just need a different format.

Business growth with increasing percentages and stacked coins, symbolising success.

Measure what matters, not what’s easy

Updated 9 July 2026

Stop measuring crap under the streetlight. The real levers are hiding in the dark. And that’s where the money is.

Wooden game pieces on a target, symbolising precise customer delivery.

Targeted delivery: Giving customers what they actually want

Updated 9 July 2026

Stop serving crisps to everyone. Serve steak to the few who pay the bills and rave about your business.

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