You will reap rich dividends if you follow this learning to the hilt. A SME needs people who think out of the box, are creative, and are perfectionists. For all critical roles, you need the BEST. So, unlike in large organizations where recruitments are conducted by the dozen, I believe SMEs should recruit only the BEST for critical roles, even if that means some delays in the recruitment process. Do not fall into the trap of recruiting people just to increase staff size.

As a CEO, you need to be a thinker and a strategist- with your feet on the ground and your mind thinking of the sky. Your effectiveness as a CEO, however, will depend upon your ability to identify and understand the ground realities of your business.

If you were asked, as the CEO of an SME, to identify the one ground reality, the single issue by which your company may grow or fall, you will probably pick staff retention as that issue. Since an SME is not typically a big brand, employees tend to jump ship into a branded organization at the very first instance.