Beyond the Ceiling: Conversations about what changes as businesses grow

In 2006, Chris Crook founded research and strategic advisory firm Nature from the second bedroom of his Melbourne flat. He had a laptop, freshly printed stationery and a simple ambition: to do great work for clients without the bureaucracy.

Twenty years on, Nature is an award-winning Certified B Corp with a team of eighty and growing. In this episode, Chris reflects on the moment he realised excellence could no longer depend on him, how his people came to own the firm’s standards, and why the team he’s helped build is his proudest achievement.

There comes a point when a business is more than one person can hold together alone. Without realising it, a founder or leader can start to become a ceiling - the limit on how far the business can go.

In this podcast, strategic leadership adviser Simon Dowling sits down with founders, CEOs and seasoned executives to talk about how they navigate that ceiling: how their role changed, what they had to let go of, what got harder, and how they build a team around them so the business no longer depends on them alone.

No polished success stories. Just honest conversations... messy bits included.