Notes from the work
Occasional pieces on what shifts at the top and why the old frame stops fitting: positioning, momentum and the quiet erosion of a CEO's room to decide.
When Accountability, Authority and Decision Rights Stop Moving Together
In scaling and PE-backed organisations, accountability often grows faster than authority. The result is execution drag at the top.
Read more, in Dutch
Toppositie: my Dutch-language newsletter, read by 600+ executives.
Occasional essays, notes and invitations for founders, CEOs and leaders navigating moments when the old frame no longer fits the next phase. Written in Dutch.
No generic leadership content. Only useful thinking, updates and invitations when there is something worth sharing.
The positioning decision that many leaders postpone too long
Your market is always forming a picture of you. The question is whether that picture still reflects the role, value and direction you carry today.
When CEO Accountability, Authority and Decision Rights Stop Moving Together
Most governance problems do not begin with strategy. They begin when CEO accountability rises, authority remains blurred and decision rights stay implicit. What appears later as friction usually starts as structural misalignment at the top.
The First 100 Days: When Accountability Rises Faster Than CEO Authority
Private Equity rarely changes strategy on day one. It changes accountability immediately. When accountability rises faster than CEO authority, decision-making slows and mandate starts to fragment.
Why Leadership Teams Stall When CEO Authority Is Never Made Explicit
Leadership teams rarely lose momentum because of strategy. They lose momentum when decisions at the top are no longer clearly owned. Under pressure, alignment turns into debate and debate replaces execution.
When Board Expectations Quietly Outrun CEO Authority
Most CEOs believe they have clarity, until pressure tests it. When decision rights are assumed rather than defined, board expectations quietly outrun CEO authority.
Growth Does Not Break Organisations. Avoidance Does.
Growth does not break organisations. It exposes where decision ownership was never clearly defined. At scale, hesitation turns into structural drag and board-level friction becomes impossible to ignore.
You don't need to know whether the issue is positioning, momentum or autonomy.
In a short conversation, we clarify what has shifted, where the frame no longer fits and what to address first.

