I fundamentally believe in keen and honest entrepreneurship as a force for good. Entrepreneurs are needed more than ever to contribute to solving societal challenges.

Scale-up companies, i.e., companies which do not accept the status quo, are eager to advance and develop for the good of their stakeholders. These entrepreneurs play to win. In Luxembourg, we have quite a few older and younger companies that had fantastic success and accomplished a lot. It may be tempting to them to protect what they have and refrain from difficult discussions and decisions to preserve what they got. They might pursue their endeavour but with a different perspective. They might play in order not to lose. Ironically, this is, in my opinion, a sure way to lose in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world such as ours. As entrepreneurs, to stay relevant, we must take up challenges and not try to ignore them or blame someone else. A good stance for 2023 is asking yourself, "What can I do about this?" and doing it.

We know how critically valuable it is to have engaged, talented individuals. In 2023, I encourage you, as an entrepreneur, to ask the following question with your current team members in mind. "If we were to have the opportunity to sign a work contract anew, would we--company and employee--do it again?" Interestingly enough, the former version of the question only asked if I, as the entrepreneur, would rehire the person. The 2023 version has given way to a more balanced relationship with the talented employee taking up an equally determined role. The consequences are enormous. With the severe talent shortage, we need to care more than ever about the people on our teams. We must develop them to become the best version of themselves and provide a reason for them to contribute to fulfilling the company's purpose, which goes beyond making money.

With the severe talent shortage, we need to care more than ever about the people on our teams

Jean-Marc Fandel, Managing director & scale-up coach, Scale Up by Meraki Management

Companies in 2023 will have to lead with principles in mind, becoming explicit about what makes them tick and developing a company culture that is coherent with these principles. It is a proven way to avoid micromanaging and work overload for the leadership team to fix these rules and promote them throughout the company. Nice posters and other displays won't suffice; regular initiatives around the principles are needed. How about sitting down with your team members individually once a month for a twenty-minute talk and asking them how they see the company doing based on these principles? The most considerable risk you run is to change your view of your company.

A sound strategic reflection is another cornerstone of the 2023 house. You will become explicit and laser clear about the core customers you target. The product or service you bring to the table and your capabilities to deliver on such a brand promise are equally crucial. Such clarity is a rare commodity in a world where some companies try to be everything to anyone. Such diversification is incredibly tempting when the business does not show the traction you expected. No wonder organisations do not perform and have issues with quality work and a lack of accountability and engagement. After all, which rabbit should help the team chase? Chasing them all will make you catch none. However, chasing only a single one with all your available forces tremendously multiplies the chances of success.

So here is your challenge for 2023: ask anyone (anyone!) in your company to formulate your strategy in a sentence or two in an easily understandable way. Such a task might not be evident initially, and the company's leadership needs to make serious efforts to get people on board. You need to invest significantly in rendering your teams and talents autonomous to enable them to take up work and free up your time. It is one of the keys to taking your life back instead of becoming crushed under the constant flow of Q&A or misaligned initiatives, causing crises and despair.

In 2023, as in many preceding years, some companies will try to do too much. After all, when you do not obtain the results that you want to have, you should double down on your efforts. Frequently this ends up in the insanity of doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. In 2023, entrepreneurs will again need the courage to pick out the initiatives that hopefully yield maximum results. "Do less and obsess" is a way of approaching these, recognising that adding yet another initiative will not get us quicker to the goal we fixed for ourselves. Software development and IT developments have taught us that working on and closing one project is much more productive before moving to the next. Alas, some companies launch many such projects to see none finished. Taking this approach will seriously allow you and your teams to celebrate success and build confidence in their ability to achieve goals effectively. Leadership has the task of creating success, but this we often forget. Don't let such an opportunity go by in 2023.

Keep scaling, and don't mess up. 

 is the managing director and scale-up coach at Scale Up, a consortium of European consultants, by Meraki Management. He previously held the position of Group COO for the scale up of MASH, an international fintech, which became a member of the Fintech 50. Previously, he led the transformation and internationalization of CETREL as CEO and MD of SIX Payment Services (Zurich), covering European operations.

An alternate version of this article first appeared in the Forecast 2023 issue of .