ScaleX™ Insider Podcast

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make when managing people isn't hiring the wrong person.

It's failing to tell them what success actually looks like.

In this clip from ScaleX Insider, Anne Lackey, Co-Founder and CEO of HireSmart Virtual Employees, explains why leadership clarity matters regardless of where your team is based.

People can't perform against expectations they don't understand.

Anne believes every employee should know why they were hired, the problem they are there to solve, their priorities and how their performance will be measured.

That's why her team defines the roles, responsibilities and scorecards first, and then matches people to those roles.

And when someone isn't meeting the standard, avoiding the conversation doesn't help them or the business.

Clear expectations give people the opportunity to improve and help leaders understand whether they have the right person in the right role.

00:00 – The Biggest Mistake in Managing People 00:38 – Define the Problem Each Role Solves 01:25 – Using Clear Priorities and Scorecards 02:15 – When Someone Isn't the Right Fit 03:05 – Build the Role Before Matching the Person 04:02 – Why Clear Expectations Are Kind 04:38 – Creating a Culture of Accountability

Website: HireSmart Virtual Employees LinkedIn: Anne Lackey

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business Website: Simple Scaling Email: [email protected] Host: Brendan McGurgan, Co-Founder Simple Scaling Guest: Anne LackeyAnne Lackey, remote staffing, virtual staffing, virtual employees, remote teams, business scaling, scaling a business, business delegation, leadership clarity, team management, workforce planning, remote team management, business productivity, employee accountability, organisational design, AI and remote work, business leadership, HireSmart Virtual Employees

What if scaling your business isn't about doing more, but getting the right people doing the right work?

In this episode of ScaleX Insider, Brendan McGurgan is joined by Anne Lackey, Co-Founder and CEO of HireSmart Virtual Employees, to explore how remote staffing can help business owners create capacity, delegate effectively and build a business that doesn't depend on them for everything.

Anne's entrepreneurial journey began more than 20 years ago after watching a close friend become seriously ill and seeing the financial impact on his family.

It changed how Anne and her husband, Mark, thought about work, money and freedom — and eventually led them to build multiple businesses together.

But creating a business didn't automatically create freedom.

Like many founders, Anne struggled to let go. A cancer diagnosis in 2022 accelerated a transition already underway and reinforced an important lesson: freedom requires trust.

Anne and Brendan explore why founders often remain trapped in low-value work and why being busy doesn't necessarily mean being productive.

Through HireSmart, Anne regularly sees highly paid employees spending time on tasks that could be handled by remote support. She even has a list of 47 things CEOs and senior leaders should never be doing.

But successful delegation isn't simply about hiring someone.

It starts with clarity.

Leaders need to know why a role exists, what problem that person is solving and what great performance actually looks like.

Anne also shares her perspective on AI, why businesses need clear policies around its use and why she believes human support will continue to play an important role as technology evolves.

Ultimately, her approach to scaling is simple: solve a real problem, serve others and stay focused on your prime directive.

00:00 – Introduction: Anne Lackey 01:00 – What Scaling With Purpose Means 04:00 – The Experience That Sparked Anne's Entrepreneurial Journey 09:00 – Entrepreneurship, Freedom and Learning to Let Go 13:00 – How Cancer Accelerated Anne's Leadership Transition 18:00 – Why You Need to Be Ready for Mentorship 23:00 – How COVID Changed the Business 28:00 – Turning Expensive Mistakes Into Lessons 32:00 – Why Anne Wishes She Had Bet on Herself Sooner 36:00 – What HireSmart Virtual Employees Does 41:00 – The Hidden Cost of Low-Value Work 46:00 – 47 Things CEOs Should Never Be Doing 51:00 – Why Founders Struggle to Delegate 55:00 – Define the Role Before Hiring the Person 59:00 – The Leadership Clarity Most Businesses Are Missing 1:03:00 – What Makes Remote Staffing Work 1:06:00 – AI and the Future of Remote Work 1:09:00 – Anne Lackey's Three Timeless Takeaways 1:10:00 – What's Next for Anne Lackey

Anne Lackey is the Co-Founder and CEO of HireSmart Virtual Employees and founder of HireSmart Cares.

With more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience and seven companies under her belt, Anne helps businesses scale through smarter staffing models, workforce planning and remote team development.

Through HireSmart Virtual Employees, Anne and her husband, Mark, help US businesses build remote support teams in the Philippines across administration, sales, marketing, accounting and customer service.

Anne is also a best-selling author, former Forbes Business Council contributor and frequent speaker on business efficiency, remote teams and scaling through smart staffing.

Website: HireSmart Virtual Employees LinkedIn: Anne Lackey

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business Website: Simple Scaling Email: [email protected] Host: Brendan McGurgan, Co-Founder Simple Scaling Guest: Anne Lackey

Growing a small business doesn't always mean spending more, hiring expensive executives or raising outside capital.

For Jeremy Middleton, the priority is proving that the business already works.

In this clip, Jeremy explains why small businesses need people who can execute, not simply more strategy, and why raising early-stage capital can be an expensive way to fund growth.

Before scaling, he looks for a cash-generative model, repeatable unit economics, a clear competitive edge and a founder with realistic ambitions.

Because sustainable growth doesn't have to happen overnight. Get the model right, repeat what works and keep compounding over time.

00:00 – Why Small Businesses Need People Who Execute 00:49 – The Cost of Raising Capital Too Early 01:18 – When Is a Business Really Ready to Scale? 01:48 – Proving Your Business Model Is Repeatable 02:27 – Finding Your Competitive Edge 02:55 – Why Sustainable Growth Takes Time

Website: Middleton Enterprises LinkedIn: Jeremy Middleton

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business Website: Simple Scaling Email: [email protected]

Host: Brendan McGurgan, Co-Founder Simple Scaling Guest: Jeremy Middleton

What makes a business partnership work as the company grows?

For Jeremy Middleton, it starts with trust, alignment and clarity — but the original agreement shouldn't necessarily be set in stone.

In this clip, Jeremy shares how his 50/50 partnership with Sir Richard Harpin evolved as HomeServe grew, and why Jeremy himself suggested changing the deal when Richard became the driving force behind the business.

For Jeremy, protecting a business partnership isn't about holding tightly to your original share of the cake. It's about recognising when circumstances have changed and finding an arrangement that continues to work for everyone.

As he puts it:

"A little of a lot is a lot better than a lot of a little."

00:00 – What Makes a Strong Business Partnership? 00:42 – Why Partnerships Need to Evolve 01:31 – Changing the 50/50 HomeServe Deal 02:43 – A Little of a Lot Beats a Lot of a Little

Website: Middleton Enterprises LinkedIn: Jeremy Middleton

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business Website: Simple Scaling Email: [email protected]

Host: Brendan McGurgan, Co-Founder Simple Scaling Guest: Jeremy Middleton

What does it really take to build a business that can keep growing for decades?

In this episode of ScaleX Insider, Brendan McGurgan is joined by Jeremy Middleton, co-founder of HomeServe and founder of Middleton Enterprises, to explore what long-term business growth looks like from someone who has experienced it first-hand.

Jeremy co-founded the business that would become HomeServe alongside Sir Richard Harpin, beginning a journey that would span around 30 years and ultimately create a multi-billion-pound business.

But Jeremy's role in that journey was different from Richard's.

As HomeServe developed, Jeremy recognised that Richard was the stronger operator. Rather than competing for the CEO position, they adapted their partnership, allowing each of them to focus on where they could create the most value.

It's a lesson Jeremy has carried into his work as an investor today: know what you're good at, know what you're not, and build around those strengths.

Jeremy and Brendan explore what founders need to prove before a business is genuinely ready to scale.

For Jeremy, it starts with the economics. The business needs to generate cash, the model needs to be repeatable, there needs to be a genuine competitive edge, and the founder needs a sensible plan for growth.

And believing those things isn't enough.

You need evidence.

The conversation also challenges the pressure many entrepreneurs feel to grow faster, enter new markets or raise significant external capital.

Jeremy explains why he often finds himself encouraging founders to do the opposite: get the existing model right, prove it works repeatedly and then keep building on it.

Because many businesses don't realise their true potential in three or five years.

They do it after ten, twenty or even thirty.

Jeremy also shares his perspective on raising external capital, why giving away equity too early can become incredibly expensive, and why founders should be clear about exactly what they need the money for before bringing an investor into the business.

They also explore what happens when the founder's personal needs begin to change.

Taking some money off the table doesn't necessarily mean selling the business. And stepping away from day-to-day operations doesn't mean walking away from what you've built.

By separating the business, your ownership and your role within it, Jeremy believes founders can create more freedom while still allowing the business to compound over the long term.

Ultimately, Jeremy's approach to scaling is remarkably simple: build something that works, stay focused on it and give it enough time to reach its potential.

00:00 – Introduction: Jeremy Middleton 00:37 – What Scaling With Purpose Really Means 03:24 – Knowing Your Strengths as a Founder 07:00 – When the Founder Should Step Back 13:54 – Building Successful Business Partnerships 19:14 – Confronting the Brutal Facts 25:10 – Scaling From £100 Million to £1 Billion 30:09 – How to Know When a Business Is Ready to Scale 35:13 – Think in Decades, Not Years 40:00 – Building Long-Term Compounders 45:04 – When Should You Take External Investment? 50:29 – Where Promising Businesses Break During Scale 53:00 – Taking Money Off the Table Without Exiting 56:33 – Think More and Do Less 58:06 – Jeremy Middleton's Three Timeless Takeaways 60:15 – What's Next for Middleton Enterprises

Jeremy Middleton is the Founder and CEO of Middleton Enterprises, a family office he established in 2000 to help entrepreneurs scale SMEs. He works with the team on new investment decisions while supporting businesses across the existing portfolio to develop winning strategies.

Jeremy is also the co-founder of HomeServe, where he worked alongside Sir Richard Harpin during its scaling journey.

Website: Middleton Enterprises LinkedIn: Jeremy Middleton

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business Website: Simple Scaling Email: [email protected] Host: Brendan McGurgan, Co-Founder Simple Scaling Guest: Jeremy Middleton

After interviewing around 1,000 people, Jordan Harbinger has heard thousands of stories. But some conversations have stayed with him long after the recording ended.

One was with former Soviet spy Jack Barsky, whose story forced Jordan to think about what happens when work and duty are prioritised over family.

Another was with Kobe Bryant.

After their interview, Jordan expected Kobe to move quickly on to his next commitment. Instead, Kobe stayed to talk about their children.

What struck Jordan was how little Kobe seemed concerned with fame, money or what came next professionally. His priority was getting to his daughter's game — even learning how to use his phone better so he could film her playing.

Three or four months later, Kobe died.

For Jordan, that memory became a powerful reminder that success is ultimately shaped by what you choose to prioritise — and that the time you assume you have with the people who matter most is never guaranteed.

[00:00] – What Jordan learned from nearly 1,000 interviews [00:55] – Jack Barsky and choosing between work and family [01:55] – Jordan's interview with Kobe Bryant [02:40] – Discovering what Kobe valued most [03:35] – Kobe's excitement about getting to his daughter's game [04:15] – A conversation about mortality that took on new meaning [04:40] – The lesson Jordan took away about family and priorities

Website: jordanharbinger.com Podcast: The Jordan Harbinger Show

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business ScaleX Elevate – for businesses under £3M revenue ScaleX Accelerator – for businesses over £3M revenue

Website: simplescaling.com Email: [email protected]

Networking often falls to the bottom of a founder's to-do list.

Not because relationships aren't important, but because "networking" can feel vague, time-consuming and difficult to turn into a practical habit.

Jordan Harbinger argues it doesn't have to be.

His approach is something he calls Connect Four.

Find one to four people you haven't spoken to in a while and send them a simple message. Remind them where you met, share a quick update about what's happening in your life and genuinely ask how they're doing.

No pitch. No favour. No hidden agenda.

Jordan says the key is to "dig the well before you get thirsty" — maintain relationships before you need a client, introduction, opportunity or favour.

And it can take just a few minutes.

Over time, those small conversations keep relationships alive and create a network built on genuine connection rather than transactions.

[00:00] – Why busy founders struggle to prioritise networking [00:45] – Why networking doesn't need to be time-consuming [01:15] – Jordan's Connect Four networking habit [02:00] – How to reconnect with someone you haven't spoken to in years [02:50] – Why you should reconnect without asking for anything [03:35] – Turning a simple message into a genuine conversation [04:00] – How small conversations can strengthen your network

Website: jordanharbinger.com Podcast: The Jordan Harbinger Show

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business ScaleX Elevate – for businesses under £3M revenue ScaleX Accelerator – for businesses over £3M revenue

Website: simplescaling.com Email: [email protected]

Business networking, relationship building and scaling with purpose are more connected than most leaders realise.

In this episode of ScaleX Insider, Brendan McGurgan sits down with Jordan Harbinger to explore how relationships, ambition and clear goals shape the way we scale.

Jordan is the host of The Jordan Harbinger Show and has interviewed around 1,000 guests across business, psychology, science, geopolitics and culture.

His argument is simple: success becomes dangerous when you never define what "enough" looks like.

If every target moves the moment you reach it, you can end up constantly trading more time for the next level of achievement.

Jordan calls this the hedonic treadmill.

For him, one of the clearest measures of success is what he calls "Lego time" — the time he gets to spend with his children while they are still young enough to want it.

That same intentionality runs through his approach to relationships.

One of Jordan's core principles is:

Dig the well before you get thirsty.

Build relationships before you need a client, favour, introduction or opportunity.

He also shares his Connect Four system: regularly reconnect with one to four people you haven't spoken to for a while, without pitching or asking for anything.

Jordan argues that strong networks are built through depth, consistency and helping others — not collecting as many contacts as possible.

And one of his most important rules is:

Don't keep score.

Instead, create value across your network and allow the benefits to compound over time.

Brendan and Jordan also explore the people who have shaped Jordan's thinking after nearly 1,000 interviews, including Jack Barsky and Kobe Bryant, and the lessons those conversations taught him about work, family, purpose and time.

00:00 – What does scaling with purpose really mean? 03:30 – Defining what "enough" looks like 07:00 – Why Jordan protects his "Lego time" 13:30 – Relationships as a competitive advantage 19:30 – Dig the well before you get thirsty 22:00 – Jordan's Connect Four networking system 28:00 – Why depth beats breadth in networking 32:30 – Becoming the connector in your network 36:00 – The real ROI of building relationships 41:00 – Why you should never keep score 46:00 – How one relationship led to this conversation 51:00 – Lessons from almost 1,000 interviews 54:00 – What Kobe Bryant taught Jordan about family and time 58:30 – What the most impressive people have in common 01:01:30 – Jordan's advice for growing a podcast 01:05:00 – Three timeless takeaways 01:06:30 – The hedonic treadmill and moving your goals

Jordan Harbinger is the host of The Jordan Harbinger Show, where he interviews leading thinkers and experts across business, psychology, science, geopolitics and culture.

Website: https://www.jordanharbinger.com

Podcast: The Jordan Harbinger Show

Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business

Website: https://simplescaling.com

Email: [email protected]

Host: Brendan McGurgan, Co-Founder Simple Scaling Guest: Jordan Harbinger

Paul Cheek explains why simply giving everyone access to ChatGPT isn't AI transformation.

The real opportunity isn't a 10% productivity boost. It's moving towards 10x efficiency by deeply embedding AI across the business.

But before SME leaders start building AI agents and automating workflows, Paul says there's one place they need to start: AI literacy.

His advice? Set aside some "Tinker Time" to experiment, learn what's possible and understand both the opportunities and the risks.

[00:00] – How AI could help SMEs think 10x bigger [01:05] – Why using ChatGPT isn't the end game [01:45] – Moving from 10% productivity to 10x efficiency [02:20] – Why AI transformation starts with literacy [03:05] – Understanding the opportunities and risks of AI agents [04:05] – Why leaders should make time to tinker with AI [05:00] – How Brendan is already using Tinker Time in his own workflow

Connect with Paul Cheek Website: paulcheek.com Book: No One Works Here: How AI-Driven Enterprises Are Raising the Bar for Business Leadership and Competition

ScaleX Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business ScaleX Elevate – for businesses under £3M revenue ScaleX Accelerator – for businesses over £3M revenue Website: simplescaling.com Email: [email protected]

Paul Cheek explains why AI is creating an entirely new model for how businesses scale.

Traditional SMEs can start with limited upfront investment, but their growth often remains linear. Innovation-driven enterprises can achieve exponential growth, but typically require significant risk capital.

Paul's AI-Driven Enterprise model brings those two worlds together — combining lower upfront resource requirements with the potential for exponential scale.

And it isn't just for tech companies. It means embedding AI across the entire business to remove the limits of "human time" and increase the speed at which an organisation can operate.

[00:00] – What is an AI-Driven Enterprise? [00:45] – Why traditional SME growth eventually becomes capped [01:30] – How innovation-driven enterprises achieve exponential growth [02:20] – The limitations of relying on risk capital [03:00] – The third model: the AI-Driven Enterprise [03:45] – Combining limited investment with exponential scale [04:30] – Why AI-driven enterprises aren't just tech companies [05:10] – Embedding AI across every function of the business [05:50] – Human time versus system time and removing the speed limit on growth

Connect with Paul Cheek Website: paulcheek.com Book: No One Works Here: How AI-Driven Enterprises Are Raising the Bar for Business Leadership and Competition

ScaleX Book: Simple Scaling: 10 Proven Principles to 10x Your Business ScaleX Elevate – for businesses under £3M revenue ScaleX Accelerator – for businesses over £3M revenue Website: simplescaling.com Email: [email protected]