Next year’s target is higher. The strategy hasn’t changed.
For founders who built their businesses from the ground up but are now struggling to grow.
Year end. The meeting-room board. Next year's target is written bigger than this year's.
Below it, the plan: more salespeople, more promotions, a new channel, more social media. And one familiar instruction: work harder.
That's a to-do list. Not yet a strategy.
The difference is simple. A to-do list answers what will be done. A strategy answers why that will move the number.
A business that grew on its own often relied on one or two key factors. Nobody documented them because, back then, nobody needed to.
Then the market shifted, and those factors weakened without anyone noticing. The only visible sign was that the numbers stopped moving.
The natural reaction is to add more initiatives. But a business that’s stuck rarely lacks initiatives. It’s lost what made it grow in the first place.
A higher target with nothing more than “work harder” rarely changes the results.
Before next year’s plan is locked in
- What made us grow, and is it still working?
- Which initiative on the list moves the number most?
- Who keeps it running when I’m not in the room?
One proven growth driver is worth more than ten untested initiatives.
Know what made you grow first.Then add activity.
Stop adding activities. Start choosing initiatives that drive growth.
Find what once made you grow. Then decide what to add.