09 Jun What Happens When You Lose Your Superpower? (A Lesson in Business Resilience)
author: Kenny Harrison
By Kenny Harrison
This is a personal reflection from Kenny Harrison on losing his voice and what it revealed about business resilience.
For two weeks, I lost my voice.
I don’t mean that I had a bit of a sore throat or felt a little raspy. I mean it was gone. Completely.
No phone calls. No presentations. No client meetings without immense strain. Even asking for a cup of tea became a Herculean task involving frantic gesturing and sticky notes.
It was frustrating, yes. But more than that, it made me realise something quite uncomfortable: a huge part of my value in the business was tied to a single, physical function.
For years, my voice has been one of my biggest tools. It’s how I build relationships, lead meetings, solve problems, and: most importantly: reassure our clients. It’s a tool I’ve used to create trust and motivate the team here at Harrison’s Accountancy.
It is incredibly easy to take your primary skills for granted until they suddenly disappear. Losing my voice forced me to think differently about how we operate in business, especially for those of us who are founders, leaders, or in client-facing roles.
We All Have a “Superpower”
What is the one thing your business couldn’t survive without for a fortnight?
Most small business owners have a “superpower.” For some, it is the same as mine: the ability to communicate and persuade. For others, it might be deep technical knowledge, boundless energy, creative spark, or the ability to make high-stakes decisions under pressure.
These superpowers are often what get a business off the ground. They are the engine. However, the danger lies in when a business becomes entirely dependent on that one person’s superpower.
Life has a habit of happening when you least expect it. Whether it is illness, burnout, a family emergency, or simply an unexpected absence, there will eventually come a time when your superpower isn’t available. If the business quietly relies on that one thing, what happens when it’s gone?
While I was recovering, I had a lot of quiet time to ask myself some difficult questions:
- What happens if I can’t lead from the front for a significant period?
- How much vital knowledge only exists in my head?
- Are our systems strong enough to function without constant input from key people?
- Have we built a resilient business, or have we just created a dependency?
Resilience in business isn’t about making yourself indispensable. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s about ensuring the business can function: and even thrive: when you have to step away.
Lesson 1: Document More Than You Think You Need To
Are your “obvious” processes actually written down?
One of the biggest risks to a small business is “tacit knowledge”: the stuff people just know how to do but haven’t recorded anywhere. When I couldn’t speak, I realised how many tiny workflows were stored in my brain rather than on a server.
Processes that seem “obvious” to you are often only clear because of your years of experience. Documenting everything from client onboarding steps to recurring tasks and communication standards creates a safety net.
As a small business accountant, we often see firms struggle when a key member of the finance team leaves or falls ill. If the “way we do things” isn’t written down, the business grinds to a halt. We always encourage our clients to build “Standard Operating Procedures” (SOPs). Not because we love paperwork, but because those documents are the blueprint for your business’s survival.
Lesson 2: Cross-Train Your Team
If only one person can do a critical task, that is a single point of failure.
It feels good to be the “hero”: the person everyone comes to for answers. But in business, heroics are a sign of a fragile system. If only one person knows how to run the weekly reports or how to handle a specific client’s quirky requirements, you are at risk.
Even a basic overlap in responsibilities can massively reduce pressure during an unexpected situation. At Harrison’s Accountancy, we ensure our team is highly experienced and fully qualified, but we also prioritise sharing knowledge.
Whether it is someone else knowing how to access the payroll bureau software or another team member understanding a client’s specific tax history, cross-training ensures that the client’s experience remains seamless, even if one of us is temporarily out of action.
Lesson 3: Build Systems, Not Heroics
How can data and software bridge the gap when you aren’t there?
A resilient business shouldn’t rely on one person always being available to give “the answer.” Instead, it should rely on systems.
Shared inboxes, CRM notes, and collaborative tools are essential. But from a financial perspective, nothing provides more clarity and continuity than robust management accounts.
When you have clear, up-to-date management accounts (whether produced weekly, monthly, or quarterly), the “truth” of the business lives in the data, not in the owner’s head. If a director needs to step away, the remaining team or advisors can look at the numbers and understand exactly where the business stands.
Our role as your small business accountant is to help you build these systems. By acting as your virtual CFO, we provide the professional oversight that keeps the engine running, allowing you to focus on your recovery (or your holiday!) without the business losing its way.
Lesson 4: Protect Your Health Earlier
Your health is not a luxury; it is your most important piece of infrastructure.
This lesson hit home the hardest. Like many professionals, I’ve often tried to push through tiredness, stress, and minor illnesses because “there’s too much to do.”
But when your “infrastructure”: your body and mind: goes down, everything else becomes significantly harder. We often talk about investing in new software or better offices, but we rarely talk about investing in our own health as a business strategy.
When you are healthy, you make better decisions, you communicate more effectively, and you lead with more empathy. Taking the time to rest isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a form of risk management. If you are the engine of your company, you need to make sure you aren’t running on empty.
The Unexpected Positive of Losing My Voice
Oddly enough, losing my voice forced me to do something I don’t always do enough of: listen.
By being forced into silence, I had to slow down. I had to observe more closely. I had to trust my team more than ever. It reminded me that leadership isn’t always about being the loudest person in the room. Often, it’s about building something strong enough that it doesn’t depend entirely on your voice being present to succeed.
If you are a founder or a key player in your business, I’d encourage you to take five minutes today to reflect.
Ask yourself: What’s the backup plan if my superpower disappears for two weeks?
Resilience isn’t something you can build during a crisis. It is built in the quiet moments long before the crisis arrives.
Whether it’s getting your documentation in order, cross-training your staff, or ensuring your management accounts are giving you the visibility you need, now is the time to act.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help you build a more resilient financial foundation for your business: from payroll services to strategic business advice: we’d love to chat. You can book a call with us here (and I promise, my voice is fully back now!).
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