Slow down to speed up: Tips and inspiration for innovation leaders

When you have a big idea you want to turn into reality it can be hard to slow down. Founder burnout and startup stress are common challenges for innovation leaders, and many become so focused on achieving their goals that they work without taking a break. If you’ve been building a startup, scaling a business or steering innovation in a larger enterprise, you’ve likely run the year at full throttle. Burning the midnight oil is baked into the founder-mode mythology, but it’s unsustainable. It’s important to recognise that the cognitive load of leading an innovative business is huge and you owe it to yourself, and your business, to take a break. Time off gives you a chance to unwind, do something different and get more sleep and better rest. You’ll return ready to face your next challenges with certainty and creativity.

Why slowing down matters for founders

Burnout – physical and emotional exhaustion triggered by prolonged stress – is a major problem for the startup community, with a survey by the Entrepreneurs Organization finding 77% of Australian founders have experienced burnout at some point. Even the most driven innovators need time to rest, recharge and realign their ideas: Canva boss Melanie Perkins admits, “I used to work seven days a week, barely pausing to breathe, thinking it was the only way to succeed—but I’ve since realised how unsustainable that was.” She now builds healthy habits to “recharge, reset and plan effectively” and says, “I’ve noticed how much better I feel when I make time for myself”.

Former fintech-founder-turned-psychologist Byron McCaughey has turned his own experience of burnout into a business supporting founders’ mental wellbeing, Sublime Studio. “Motivation, decision-making, creativity, focus, co-founder dynamics – everything was influenced by my psychological wellbeing,” McCaughey says. “And of course, when your mental game slips, so does business performance.”

Rest as a strategic tool to prevent founder burnout

Taking a genuine break is one of the simplest but most powerful ways to reset your perspective. When you step away from the day-to-day intensity of building an innovative business, you create the mental space to think differently…or not think at all. That pause allows ideas to settle, patterns to emerge, and new insights to surface.

Block out a few days (or more) in your diary right now. It might be a retreat, a family stay, or simply a weekend away without Slack or Inbox notifications. Read something other than balance sheets. This helps you shift from “always on” to “deliberately off”. Melanie Perkins says real breaks help her “work smarter, not harder”.

Whether you spend your downtime reading, listening, wandering or simply resting, the act of slowing down helps you return with fresh clarity and a renewed sense of purpose. With that in mind, we’ve curated a selection of podcasts and books to keep you inspired while you recharge.

Podcasts

• The startup playbook podcast: Every week, Aussie host Rohit Bhargava of the AWS Startups team interviews successful entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts on how they got started, their strategies for success and their advice to current and future entrepreneurs. Ranked #3 on iTunes, listening to this podcast is like having a business mentor in your pocket.
• Wild hearts: Host Mason Yates from Blackbird Ventures uncovers the real, gritty stories of founders on the innovation front line. Featuring innovators such as Adam Gilmour (Gilmour Space), Lucy Liu (Airwallex) and Joe Harris (Alloy), it’s the perfect inspiration for a new year. Plus, each episode features insights from the investor that backed them, including why they invested.
• Perspective X: Australian Computer Society Director and founder of digital, innovation and technology fest Something Tech., Pauline Fetaui chats to innovators and change makers about what drives them, what challenges they’ve faced, and the beliefs that have shaped who they are today.
• The intuitive customer: Hosts, influencer Colin Shaw and Professor Ryan Hamilton, break down complex behavioural science theories into practical advice to help you grow your business. Ranked in the top 2% of podcasts globally, and with more than 400 episodes, there’s plenty of topics to choose from.
• This week in startups Australia: Hosted by Mark Pesce, this podcast helps your start-up thrive with interviews and advice from the leading founders, investors and thinkers in Australia’s tech start-up community.
• Disruptors for good: For a little motivation, tune into this podcast showcasing global social entrepreneurship and social enterprises committed to doing good in the world. Host Grant Trahant conducts in-depth interviews with founders generating positive global impact in diverse fields, from ethical fashion to impact investing and sustainable travel.
• Dare to lead: Best-selling author Brené Brown talks to leaders and innovators to explore courage, vulnerability and how to lead with empathy. The series offers practical tools and insights for developing brave leadership.
• Moonshots: Pure inspiration, from the world’s greatest superstars, thinkers and entrepreneurs, who discuss the secrets to their success. Learn how to change mindset and daily habits from the likes of Brené Brown and Elon Musk to Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 startup.

Books

• Capture: How business owners unlock value, exit with purpose & step into what’s next, by leadership expert and Neology Chairman and CEO Brad Feldmann: New this year, this book helps business owners prepare for a high-value, low-regret exit with frameworks, questions, and strategies: perfect timing to set yourself up well for the year ahead.
• Atomic habits, by James Clear: If you haven’t read this yet, this is an easy but impactful read. A practical guide for entrepreneurs from a world-renowned habits expert, this book sets out how tiny, consistent improvements (just 1% better each day) can compound into huge results over time.
• Moments of impact: How to design strategic conversations that accelerate change, by Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon: Swap out your standard meetings for impactful problem-solving sessions by learning a simple, creative process to help your teams tackle their most challenging issues.
• Lost and founder, by Robert Craven: This hands-on guide to getting your startup off the ground shares strategies and tactics for struggling founders and would-be innovators.
• The art of the start 2.0, by Guy Kawasaki: This classic is still worth a read for its nuggets of startup wisdom and timeless core principles.
• Design a better business: New tools, skills and mindset for strategy and innovation, by Patrick van der Pijl, Justin Lokitz, and Lisa Kay Solomon: Another classic, this is a playbook for rethinking how businesses operate, adapt and thrive, even in today’s ever-changing environment.
• Measure what matters, by John Doerr: This legendary venture capitalist introduces the concept of Objectives and Key Results (OKR) and provides a proven method to stay focused and track success. Used by the likes of Intel, Google, Amazon and Uber to fuel their explosive growth, this method helps make tough choices in business.
• The kindness revolution, by Hugh Mackay: A distillation of his life’s work, in this book Hugh Mackay encourages us to find the good in ourselves and in society to restore hope, rebuild trust and inspire optimism.
• Average at best, by Astrid Jorgensen: From the founder of Pub Choir, this is a powerful, funny and honest memoir about trusting your gut and not trying to be better than anyone else if you want to get anything done.

Care for yourself to care for your business

The most ambitious innovators recognise that taking a break isn’t a sign of weakness: it’s a strategic move. McCaughey says, “I see a clear pattern in my work: founders who take a proactive approach to their mental wellbeing are far less likely to reach breaking point than those who take a ‘I’ll fix it when it’s broken’ approach.” By slowing down, you preserve the equity you’ve built (in your time, energy and focus) and set yourself up to dive into the next phase with clarity and purpose. That’s in line with our belief at Radium: you should keep more of your equity and control and use funding (and rest) as a tool, not a trap. The innovation journey shouldn’t be a constant sprint, and you need to find a rhythm of focus, pause and acceleration. Take the time to rest, read, reflect — and then come back ready to create impact, with control, clarity and connection. Sustainable innovation depends on sustainable leaders, and the strongest businesses are built by founders who protect both their energy and their equity.