Welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences.

I'm Kevin Brent and in today's episode I'm joined by Diane Mentzer, an expert in the CEO–COO dynamic and how leadership teams can unlock the next stage of growth.

If you've ever felt like your business has hit a ceiling; where growth slows, complexity increases, and everything still seems to depend on you; then this episode is for you.

Diane shares practical insights on when to bring in a COO, how to make that relationship work, and why letting go of execution is often the key to unlocking scale.

One of the standout ideas from this conversation is simple but powerful: hiring a COO without truly empowering them isn't delegation; it's just expensive frustration.

Diane has provided a toolkit for managing the COO-CEO relationship – you can download it using the link in the shownotes

If you're tired of ending the week busy but no further forward, Smart90 might be for you. It's a simple 90-day execution rhythm with an AI alignment check that keeps your daily focus tied to what actually matters. Try it free at Smart90.co.uk

Make sure you don't miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts - and why not give us a follow. You can also nominate a guest for ScaleUp Radio if you know someone with an interesting ScaleUp story – you can find how in the shownotes.

For now, continue listening for the full discussion with Diane.

Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.

If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:

https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin

You can get in touch with Kevin here:

kevin@biz-smart.co.uk

Kevin's Book Is Here!

Drawing on BizSmart's own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.

More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/

Diane can be found here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-integrates/

diane@dianeintegrates.com

Toolkit - www.dianeintegrates.com/toolkit

Resources:

Just Listen by Mark Goulston - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/just-listen-discover-the-secret-to-getting-through-to-absolutely-anyone-m-d-goulston-mark/5800738?ean=9780814436479&next=t

Own The Room by Jake Stahl - https://www.waterstones.com/book/own-the-room/jake-stahl/9781968318253

90.IO - https://app.ninety.io/login?redirectUrl=%2F

Rocket Fuel app - https://rocketfuel.inc/

Mem.ai - https://get.mem.ai/

Episode #591: Mastering the CEO–COO Dynamic - with Diane Mentzer