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Episode 170 - Looking Back to Move Forward: Lessons Hidden in Your Business History

By: Richard Buckle on May 1, 2026 9:41:22 AM

The SME Growth Podcast
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In this episode, we explore a deceptively simple question: can looking backwards help us make better decisions going forwards? Drawing on real examples from boardroom discussions and long-term company records, we reflect on how easy it is for gradual change to go unnoticed, and how that can quietly shape performance, culture, and strategy over time. From inflation’s impact on pricing to the evolution of teams and products, we consider what business leaders might be missing by focusing only on the present.

We also examine how a more longitudinal view, across five, ten, even twenty years, can reveal patterns that short-term reporting simply cannot. Whether it’s recognising when your business has plateaued, identifying missed opportunities in product development, or spotting outdated processes that are holding you back, we discuss how historical insight can become a powerful tool for better decision-making today.

You can listen to the full episode here 


Listen to the full episode now

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0f2ySwQHwCU3vUiZLTCsNT?si=4c7UkeV7QzG9v_Kt6gIRawhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sme-growth-podcast-by-wellmeadow/id1654715808https://www.youtube.com/@TheSMEGrowthPodcast 

Key Topics Discussed:

  • Using company history as a decision-making tool

  • The risk of “slow change” going unnoticed over time

  • Pricing: inflation, margins, and revenue per client trends

  • People: retention, leadership changes, and organisational cycles

  • Product lifecycle: innovation, maturity, and missed opportunities

  • Processes: legacy systems vs incremental improvements

  • The balance between external change and internal adaptation

 

Who Is This Episode For:

This episode is aimed at business owners, directors, and senior leaders, particularly those running SMEs, who want to make more informed, strategic decisions. It will also resonate with those in operations, finance, and commercial roles who are responsible for performance, growth, and long-term planning.

 

Quotes to Remember:

“If the rate of external change is greater than the rate of internal change, disaster is imminent.”

“Things happen slowly enough that if you just look at last month, you miss the bigger picture.”

“Are we doing enough today to protect the future?”

 

Actionable Takeaways:

  1. Review pricing over a 5–10 year period, has it kept pace with inflation and costs?

     

  2. Analyse revenue per client, not just total turnover, to understand real growth

     

  3. Look at employee tenure and turnover trends to spot patterns or underlying issues

     

  4. Map your product portfolio across its lifecycle, what’s growing, flatlining, or declining?

     

  5. Revisit past product ideas that may have failed due to timing rather than quality

     

  6. Audit your processes: identify anything unchanged for years that may now be inefficient

     

  7. Compare internal progress against external market change, are you keeping up?

     

  8. Use historical records (board minutes, reports) to challenge assumptions and avoid false memory

     

  9. Take time to recognise progress, what improvements have you normalised without noticing?



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