Show notes
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences.
I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Michael Moorhouse, a leadership expert and advisor who works with scaleup businesses to align their strategy, systems, and people for high performance.
In this episode, Michael shares practical frameworks to help you break through one of the biggest scaling barriers — founder dependency. We explore how to move from building a team of helpers to developing real leaders, how to make better decisions under pressure using simple but powerful frameworks, and why over-reliance on AI could actually be weakening your competitive edge.
One standout insight from the conversation is this: your job as a leader isn’t to be right — it’s to move people. That shift alone can completely change how your business grows.
If you’re tired of ending the week busy but no further forward, Smart90 might be for you. It’s a simple 90-day execution rhythm with an AI alignment check that keeps your daily focus tied to what actually matters. Try it free at Smart90.co.uk
Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts - and why not give us a follow.
For now, continue listening for the full discussion with Michael.
Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.
If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:
https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin
You can get in touch with Kevin here:
Kevin's Book Is Here!
Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.
More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/
Michael can be found here:
Resources:
The Expectation Effect by David Robson - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-expectation-effect-how-your-mindset-can-transform-your-life-david-robson/6418446?ean=9781838853303&next=t
Simply Put by Ben Guttmann - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/simply-put-why-clear-messages-win-and-how-to-design-them-ben-guttmann/7509635?ean=9781523004683&next=t
Tools from Michael:
Critical Thinking & Decision-Making Tool
This tool provides a simple, practical way to improve decision quality by bringing structure to how you think. It helps clarify what decision is actually being made, separates facts from assumptions, and walks through options and tradeoffs so you can move forward with greater clarity and intention.
To request the tool, visit the website contact form and enter “Tools” in the subject line.
Operating Conditions Tool
This tool helps identify the underlying conditions influencing performance, including cognitive load, clarity, environment, and stress. It surfaces where friction is present and where conditions are either supporting or undermining effective execution, so you can make targeted adjustments that actually improve how work gets done.
To request the tools, visit the website contact form (https://moorhousegroup.com/contact) and enter “Tools” in the message body.
Note: We will send them the tools, but they will not be added to any marketing lists. When we send the email out, within the body of the email there will be an option to subscribe, but that will be their choice.