The Reading Room
Articles
Writing on business, ownership, and the art of enjoying both, from the Initiative's co-founders.
Everything, by subject. 96 pieces.
Business Optimisation11
- Creative Catalysts: Driving Business Optimisation Through Innovative Ideation
- The Interconnection of Optimisation and Innovation in Business
- Choosing Wisely: The Role of Ockham's Razor in Selecting a Business Coach
- Navigating the Search: Finding a Coach Who Understands Business Optimisation
- Strategic Reinvention: Optimising Business by Investing in People and Systems
- The Power of Small Changes, Big Results: Transformative Strategies in Small Businesses
- The Power of Small in Business: Leveraging Minor Changes for Major Impact
- The Crucial Role of Optimisation in Business: A Shield Against Emergencies
- Harnessing the Power of Technology in Business Optimisation
- Optimise Your Business or Become Irrelevant: The Critical Path to Efficiency and Resource Reutilisation
- One Law, One Principle, Endless Possibilities to Increase Productivity Exponentially
Capital and Exits28
- Closing is the exit you choose by waiting
- The record costs less than the copy
- The term you'd never have accepted on day one
- Nobody asked for an earn-out. You just offered one.
- The bigger offer is often the smaller one
- Worth a dollar to one buyer and three to another
- Don't fill the two-second pause
- Delete the adjectives and see what's left
- Nobody pays for upside they have to imagine
- Your growth rate is hiding something
- Twelve apps, four spreadsheets, an old server, and Michael
- Loyalty isn't a retention plan
- You know the history. The buyer inherits the paperwork.
- Leave for two weeks, and don't fix anything at night
- The add-back that costs you more than it adds
- Due diligence has no pass mark
- The questions you will be asked, in the order they will be asked
- They Are Not Buying the Venue. They Are Pricing Your Absence.
- What the person across the table is actually looking at
- Why your business is worth less than you think, and exactly where the discount sits
- Return OF Capital. The Question Every Hospitality Investor Asks First.
- Programmers Chasing a Payday: The Investor Trap in Basement-Built SaaS
- Understanding The Venture Capital Investment Journey
- Think of the ROI Before Having Intercourse
- Love and Ledger: The Similarities Between Selling a Business and the Dating Game
- Raise the Bar: The Bartender's Guide to Selling Your Business
- Pitching with Precision: How Ockham's Razor Sharpens Investment Proposals
- Simplifying the Sale: Applying Ockham's Razor to Selling Your Business
Experience Design3
Finance and Governance7
- They Punished the Question
- It Only Works If It Goes Up
- The Hidden Cost of Rogue Accountants: Understanding and Avoiding Unethical Practices
- Empowering Financial Management: The Role of Business Coaches and Mentors
- Beyond Resolution: Strengthening Financial Practices After Accountant Misconduct
- Navigating Success: The Crucial Role of Cash Flow Forecast and Budget in Business Optimisation
- Addressing Accountant Misconduct Globally: Effective Steps for Financial Redress
Hospitality17
- The Choice
- That's Just How It Is
- When the Room Goes Sideways
- Hire the Spark, Teach the Skill: The Selection Problem Hiding in the Labour Problem
- The Gap Between Promise and Delivery
- Hotel or Accommodation: Most Operators Have Already Chosen and Won't Admit It
- You Can Feel It When You Walk In
- Speed Up to Slow Down: The Time-Buyback Decision Most Operators Are Failing
- The Hotel That Ate Itself
- Marketing is rarely the problem. Repeat business is.
- The Sentence That Ruins the Meal
- This Wasn't Fast-Food Pettiness. It Was a Lesson in Operational Signalling.
- The Hospitality Industry Is Solving the Wrong Problem (And It's Costing Millions)
- The Hustle Can’t Hold the Standard
- Transforming Hospitality: Mastering Workforce Dynamics in Tourism Hotspots
- Understanding Market Dynamics for Mastering Ingredient Cost Management in the Hospitality Industry
- Supporting Staff Wellness and Growth in the Food Industry
Leadership16
- They Sell Courage. Where Was Theirs?
- The Signal Audit: Five Questions to Ask Before You Put a Leader on Camera
- Your Signal Is the Message. McDonald's CEO Just Proved It.
- The $600K Leadership Mistake I Made While Building My Third Business
- Stop Worshipping the Genius Dev: Build a Business That Survives One
- Your Culture’s Not Broken. Your Leadership’s Out of Alignment
- The 5 Unbreakable Laws of Leadership
- Offshore Team Leadership: Don’t Hire ‘Stephen-the-House-Nig—r’
- You’re Not Lost. You’re Just Moving Fast in the Wrong Direction.
- 7 Costly Leadership Gaps That Are Killing Your Business (and How to Fix Them)
- 3 Powerful Ways to Master the Inversion Process in Leadership
- Master Today, Dominate Tomorrow: The Leadership Playbook - the Secret to Building Success, One Action at a Time
- Leadership That Powers Growth With the Law of Compensation: 5 Steps to Scale Business Success and Transform Effort Into Results That Scale
- Master the Law of Rhythm with 5 Steps for High-Impact Leadership and Organisational Flow
- Why Most Businesses Struggle With the Law of Attraction - and How Yours Will Thrive With These 3 Pillars of Alignment
- High-Frequency Leadership: 6 Pillars for Using the Law of Vibration to Transform Teams and Drive Organisational Success
Mindset and Purpose6
- The 6Ps Framework - How to Stop Bleeding Energy and Start Leading with Precision
- 3 P’s Are Disingenuous and Will Limit Your Potential. Embrace the 6 P’s Instead.
- Conscious Assessment of Your Strengths and Weaknesses
- Define Your Own Success
- Happiness & Money: the Chicken & Egg Nemesis of Getting What You Want
- Self-belief and Positive Thinking