Slow Down to Speed Up: How to Navigate the Potholes of 2026

I went to a talk at Tanbridge Golf Club. Best bacon sandwiches in the county.

Gert Schberg, founder of Sebnini, shared insights from building his business since the late 80s. Decades of lessons on navigating SME challenges.

One message stuck with me: Knowledge is power.

Experience fundamentally changes how you navigate. When you've driven a difficult road before, you know where the craters are. You know which lane to be in.

But what if you're driving for the first time? Or your business has scaled quickly and you're suddenly on unfamiliar road?

Gert's answer: Patience. And plan all the way to the end.

The Potholes of 2026

The business landscape looks like a poorly maintained B-road in February. Full of expensive craters.

The same five challenges keep appearing in founder conversations:

• Rising costs hammering margins
• Budget constraints delaying critical decisions
• New business underperforming
• Hiring shortages - not because skilled people don't exist, but because you're looking at the wrong map
• Remote teams feeling disconnected

These aren't theoretical. They're daily reality for most £1M-£5M businesses right now.

The Speed Trap

When founders hit these challenges, the instinct is to accelerate.

Move faster. Work harder. React quicker.

This feels productive. Like progress.

But when you're driving a road full of potholes, speed is your enemy.

Hit a crater at 20mph and you might damage a tyre. Hit it at 60mph and you're calling a recovery truck.

The same applies to business decisions:

• React to rising costs by immediately raising prices without understanding your market → lose clients
• Respond to budget constraints by cutting the wrong things → save pennies today, lose pounds tomorrow
• Address remote disconnection by mandating office returns without consultation → lose your best people

Speed compounds the damage.

The Hiring Pothole: Wrong Map, Wrong Destination

The biggest crater I see: hiring for technical skills when you should hire for attitude.

"We can't find anyone with the right experience."

Here's what 25 years of building teams taught me:

The issue isn't that skilled people don't exist. It's that you haven't mapped what actually makes someone successful in your business.

Most founders create job specs based on technical requirements:

• 5 years in industry
• Proficient in X software
• Degree in Y subject

Then wonder why perfect CVs fail six months in.

Because technical skills aren't the pothole. Attitude is.

The person who succeeds:

• Asks questions when they don't understand
• Takes ownership when something goes wrong
• Adapts when priorities shift
• Cares about outcomes, not just their job description

You can teach technical skills. You can't teach attitude.

Experienced founders know this. They've hired the "perfect candidate" with credentials but no drive. And the "risky bet" without all the boxes ticked but with hunger to learn.

They know which one worked out.

How to navigate this pothole:

Before posting that job ad, map what actually predicts success.

Look at your best performers. What attitudes do they share?

• Do they solve problems or escalate them?
• Do they need direction or figure it out?
• Do they protect territory or help teammates?
• Do they stay curious or stop learning?

Hire for those attitudes first. Technical skills second.

Yes, this means considering candidates without the "ideal CV."

Yes, this means investing more in onboarding.

But the alternative - hiring fast because the CV looks impressive - costs you six months, team morale, and doing it all again.

Plan all the way to the end: Not just "do they have the skills?" but "will they thrive here in 18 months?"

Stop racing to fill the role. Start mapping what success looks like.

What Patience Actually Means

Gert's advice isn't about being slow. It's about being deliberate.

Experienced founders don't move faster. They move smarter.

The question isn't "what's the quickest fix?" but "what's the right response?"

Answering that requires slowing down to:

Understand root causes, not symptoms. Rising costs might be a supplier issue - or reveal your pricing model hasn't evolved. One needs negotiation. The other needs business redesign.

Map full impact before deciding. Budget constraints delaying software might feel prudent. But if that costs three months of productivity and your operations manager quits, the "saving" was expensive.

Plan implementation, not just decision. A new sales hire sounds logical. But without training, CRM infrastructure, or qualification frameworks, you've added someone to manage rather than solved the problem.

The Real Speed

Here's the paradox: founders who slow down to navigate carefully end up moving faster overall.

Because they don't spend six months recovering from rushed decisions.

They don't lose key people from hasty changes.

They don't reverse course three months later.

Patience and planning aren't the opposite of speed. They enable sustainable speed.

The question isn't "how do I move faster through these challenges?"

It's "how do I navigate them intelligently so I maintain momentum?"

That's 2026.

Not faster. Smarter.

Your Navigation Checklist

1. Identify your biggest pothole

• Which challenge costs you most - time, money, or momentum?
• Are you treating symptoms or root causes?

2. Map the route before accelerating

• If you solve this, what happens next?
• Who's affected?
• What could go wrong?

3. Slow down on one decision

• Pick something you planned to do quickly
• Take 48 hours to think through implications
• Plan all the way to the end

Knowledge is power. But only if you slow down enough to use it.

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