Don't Get Manacled by Success

The Squeeze

The big guy on the block has all the resources they need to put their foot down on you at any moment. And the young upstarts have the energy and agility to outmaneuver you at any turn.

In the middle, you find yourself--that is if you have your eyes open--realizing that the old so-called growth strategy (do great work, add effective marketing, and watch the company grow), seems to have stalled.For 20 years, your company's growth yielded a revenue stream that described an admirable 45 degree upward climb. Sure, so did the graph of your expenses, it should be noted, but that wasn't a problem; rather, it was to be expected as growth enabled reinvestment and expansion and your profit margins remained healthy.

Then--it seemed to occur almost overnight, though in truth you just missed the indicators several years ago when the trend started--the younger upstarts became established competitors and started eating your lunch, and the big guy was rumbling about a good takeover target, and your company's name was being mentioned.

Emergency Response

The CEO gathered the Executive Team together.  "The plan is to double the size of the business size over the next 3 years. If we don't we're going to be irrelevant."

That's what the CEO said, and someone on the far side of the conference table murmured, "That's not a plan, that's a wish."

The COO shot a warning glance at the indiscrete member of his team, made a mental note to replace him, and picked up where the CEO had left off.

"Grow or die. If you're not gaining market and building good revenue, you're getting passed by the ones who are. So I want each of you in this room to send me one well-thought-out action that can be executed to move us toward our goal. I'll be expecting your initial offerings by EOB Friday." 

Looking Beyond Your Walls

As the management team disbanded their meeting, flies buzzing in the hallways could hear the grumbling from others: "When have you heard that before!" "So easy to say, you'd hardly know there's any thought behind it." "Growth itself is not a strategy, it's a measure of successful execution." "What if the company grows but loses its soul?"

So you went back your desk and typed a message to the COO: "It may take some help from the outside to get over this plateau and start moving up again. We seem blocked."

The COO's response was quick, sharp, and defensive. "You're our Chief Strategy Officer. It's curious that you seem ready to abdicate your role and urge that the company pay someone else to do your job."

You shake your head in wonder, thinking, "Why can't they see that sometimes you just need the perspective and experience of business growth strategy consultants? After all, that's their expertise. Strategy!"

From "So It Goes" to "Here Goes"

It's a familiar predicament, particularly in mid-market businesses throughout America, where the big competition has all the muscle, the smaller, emerging competitors have energy and agility, and the middle-aged, mid-cap companies are finding themselves squeezed and tired and looking backward.

If that's where you're located, and the things you've tried on your own haven't been working, a team of proven business growth strategy consultants, doing what they do best, may be just what you need to help you form and execute a plan to get moving again.