“Not Bad” – Running a Business When Times Are Tough
“How’s business?”
Ask most British CEOs or MDs that question right now and you will hear the same answer: “Not bad.”
It is the understated hallmark of the British business psyche. Part optimism, part realism. It really means, “We’re managing, but it’s getting harder.” Orders are steady enough, costs are creeping, cash is tighter than you would like, and the mood across the team feels a little more strained than it used to. You are not in distress, but you are acutely aware that the margin for comfort is thinner than it once was.
Of course, “not bad” can also mean something very different when it comes from a leader who everyone knows is flying. In that case, it is a quiet smile of understatement, a nod to success without needing to say it. But more often than not, when said today, it sits somewhere closer to cautious realism than triumph.
Don’t you just love our dry and understated culture? It is so hard for other nationalities to fully grasp the nuance of it.
In my work as an interim leader, I am often brought in when “not bad” has already become “not good.” By that point, time and options are limited. Yet what I do in those situations to stabilise performance, reset priorities, and rebuild confidence can be just as valuable to healthy businesses that simply want to stay that way.
You do not have to wait for trouble before you act like a recovery leader.
But to do that, you need to think like one.
It Starts With Mindset
When I am brought in to lead or advise a distressed business, I often ask the CEO or MD a simple question once the immediate fire is under control:
“Looking back, what would you have done differently?”
The answers are remarkably consistent.
“I would have acted sooner.”
“I would have cut complexity earlier.”
“I would have been tougher on underperformance.”
“I would have dropped my cost base to preserve cash.”
“I would have faced the facts rather than hoping things would improve.”
In almost every case, the business reached a tipping point not because management lacked skill, but because they delayed the mindset shift that a crisis forces upon you.
When liquidity tightens, or the funder withdraws support, you no longer have the luxury of waiting. Decisions that once felt risky suddenly become obvious. That clarity, that focus on what really matters, is what I try to bring long before a crisis hits.
Sales may be the lifeblood of a business, but cash is the oxygen that keeps it alive. In every recovery I have led, the most immediate priority is to preserve cashflow-positive activity and cut what drains it. That discipline alone often makes the difference between survival and decline.
The challenge for any CEO or MD in a tough environment is to reach that mindset now, without waiting for the bank to stop lending or investors to lose confidence.
Ask yourself: if this were a recovery situation and time was tight, what would you do differently this week? Who would you call first? What decisions would you stop deferring? What costs would you remove to protect the business?
That perspective unlocks focus. It strips away the noise and makes the next steps self-evident.
I know what it feels like when you are in that space. You are often tired. Things feel numb. Your brain feels full. Life settles into a kind of grey zone where everything functions, but little feels sharp. You can sense that something needs to change, yet it is hard to jolt yourself out of the daze. It is a strange but almost comfortable place to be.
When it happened to me, years later I was certain it was a mental state my brain had triggered, and that psychologists would have an explanation. So I looked it up. It turns out that when the brain is under prolonged pressure, it has several ways of protecting itself. Psychologists talk about cognitive overload, decision fatigue, and protective dissociation – states where the mind dulls the edges to keep you functioning. It makes perfect sense. The problem is that in leadership, that protection can become a sedative. You feel as though you are coping, when in fact you are gradually switching off.
It reminds me of sailing in fog. The fog wraps around you like a cocoon. Sounds dull, sight narrows, and everything feels strangely calm. Yet if a ship were suddenly to appear, or you hear its foghorn close by, adrenaline floods through you and every sense returns to full alert. Leadership under pressure can feel the same. The fog dulls your instincts until something jolts you back to life. The trick is to wake yourself before the near miss.
Recognising that state for what it is becomes the first act of recovery. It is the point at which you re-engage, lift your head, and take deliberate control before the comfort of the fog becomes the trap that holds you there.
The Thing Is, Your Team Feels It Too
Your management team will feel it as well. They are not stupid, and they will sense the same tension you do. In fact, that uneasy feeling often runs deeper than you realise. When the business feels flat or uncertain, that mood can spread far beyond the boardroom.
Taking decisive action, taking charge, will do more than improve performance — it will lift energy across the organisation. It signals that someone has taken hold of the wheel. You will see it in how people talk, how they show up, how they prioritise.
Shift the gears. Get at it. The chances are that many of your competitors are also stuck in the fog, hesitating, waiting for something to change. Your decisive leadership could be the move that gets you ahead while others are still drifting.
From “Not Bad” to “Back on Track” – The Early Discipline That Prevents Decline
Most businesses do not fail suddenly. They drift.
A little complacency creeps in, a few tough calls are delayed, and focus starts to blur. External pressures such as costs, regulation, labour, and customer confidence begin to tighten. Small operational issues that were once tolerated start to matter.
The difference between a business that weathers tough conditions and one that slides into trouble is rarely brilliance. It is discipline. The same discipline that recovery leaders apply when they are called in late can be applied early, quietly, and without fanfare.
In a tightening environment, rhythm is everything. Reinforce the basics: weekly alignment meetings with clear operational priorities, key metrics that genuinely show progress (not just numbers for the board pack), and a cadence that keeps everyone pulling in the same direction. When a business loses rhythm, it loses momentum. Get people back on a pattern of clarity and accountability before drift becomes decline.
Cash visibility is another early warning signal. In distressed companies, one of the first things I do is rebuild clarity around cash. But you do not need to be in distress to do that. Look beyond the current balance. Know your trends, triggers, and sensitivities. Test your assumptions. Run simple “what if” scenarios. What happens if sales drop by ten per cent? If supplier costs rise by five? You will make better decisions today if you already know where the pressure points are tomorrow.
Take action on wasted cash. Cut the waste. Address non-performing headcount without damaging capability. Stop funding pet projects that look good on paper but add little value. In every recovery I have led, the turning point comes when leadership stops trying to protect every part of the business and starts protecting the parts that make money. Get back to basics. Reconnect with the core money-making model and ask what needs to happen to get back to it. Once that clarity returns, decisions become simpler and the right priorities more obvious.
When conditions tighten, complexity kills. Most management teams are doing too much, and too many initiatives are running half-finished. Strip it back to what really moves the dial. Focus on the activities that protect or generate cash, sustain customer confidence, and maintain operational stability. If you are not sure what to stop doing, imagine you were parachuted into your own business as an interim. What would you pause immediately to create breathing space?
Pressure also exposes gaps in capability, confidence, and cohesion. Ask yourself whether the team have the bandwidth and clarity to deliver what is needed now, or whether you are relying on goodwill and stretch. In my experience, teams under strain often want direction more than reassurance. Check alignment. Reset expectations. Make sure everyone understands what success looks like in the next 90 days, not just the next year.
Stakeholder confidence is equally vital. When a business comes under pressure, it is far easier to maintain trust than rebuild it. Investors, funders, and key suppliers all value leaders who stay visible and communicative in quieter times. A short update now builds credibility for later. If you do need support down the line, they will already trust your judgement.
And finally, think ahead. Every recovery plan starts with a simple question: “What would we do if?” You do not need to broadcast it, but thinking through those “what ifs” now gives you options later. Identify your early warning signals, the triggers that would prompt you to act. You will sleep better knowing you are prepared, even if you never need it.
Leadership in Tough Times
Leading in tough conditions is not about panic or bravado. It is about calm visibility.
Your team, your funders, and your customers all take their cues from you. When you act early, you create confidence. When you ignore warning signs, you create anxiety.
I have seen businesses turn around after significant decline, but I have also seen how avoidable that decline often was. The leaders who navigate difficult markets best are the ones who apply the disciplines of recovery before they are forced to.
You do not have to be in trouble to think like a turnaround leader.
In fact, that is exactly how you avoid becoming one.
“You don’t need the ball to change the game” – My Leadership Philosophy
