Decision Notes
Observations, questions and recurring patterns from working with CEOs, founders and boards.
01
When accountability grows faster than authority.
A new mandate or investor can change what a CEO is accountable for before decision rights have caught up. The resulting friction often remains invisible until an important decision needs to be made.
Selected Notes.
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02
When two good options both make sense.
Growth or profitability. Continuity or leadership change. Speed or control. A CEO's priorities become clearest when both options are credible and the consequences matter.
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03
New ownership versus old decision rights.
An acquisition or a new investor changes expectations. Yet the organisation often continues making decisions according to the previous mandate. That gap can quietly undermine progress.
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CEO Knopen is my Dutch-language newsletter for CEOs, founders and board members. Reflections on the decisions shaping leadership, ownership and business direction.
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THE FIRST STEP
A decision worth a closer look?
If something you've read connects to a decision you're facing, let's discuss what's at stake and whether an independent perspective could help.
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.