Your Path to 3X Growth

[4-min read]

Meet my client, Sarah.

A decade into her entrepreneurial journey, she found her business in a constant loop.

Despite her hard work, the growth graph resembled a plateau more than the upward curve she envisioned.

The culprit? Lack of a solid business strategy.

Sarah knew something had to change. We worked together with her team to examine their business, market, and competitors.

It all culminated in a well-crafted strategic plan they put to work immediately. And the results were nothing short of transformative.

Her business broke free from the static loop, soaring into realms she’d only dreamed of.

Business Strategy Unveiled

Creating a business strategy isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. It’s a tailored suit, cut and stitched to fit your company’s unique silhouette.

Let’s delve into some powerful tools to sculpt your strategy, as outlined in my Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Business Strategy.

SWOT Analysis (the OG of strategy):

• Identify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

• Sarah discovered her firm’s customer service, brand reputation, and tech skills (Strengths), and their lack of market awareness (Weakness).

PESTLE Analysis:

• Explore the big-picture factors: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental.

• This helped Sarah’s team understand the rules, trends, and potential risks in her industry.

Playing to Win Framework:

• Choose where to play and how to win. And, equally important, where you won’t play or what you won’t do.

• Sarah chose to target eco-conscious millennials. They were her best customers with plenty of upside potential.

ANSOFF Matrix:

• Strategize around market penetration, product development, market development, or diversification.

• Sarah opted for market penetration and market development. She was confident in her business model and ready to expand beyond their current locations.

VRIO Model:

• Assess the Value, Rarity, Imitability, and Organization of your resources.

• This revealed Sarah’s unique processes and quality control as rare and valuable assets.

TOWS Analysis:

• Marry your SWOT analysis with strategic choices.

• Sarah used her team’s tech skills as a strategy to overcome market unawareness through in-depth research, and an aggressive digital marketing campaign.

With these tools, Sarah sculpted a solid strategy. She transitioned from random decisions to a structured, goal-driven approach.

And the impact was electric. They opened a new location, revenue is soaring, and her business is becoming even more of a name to reckon with in its domain.

Making It Work for You

The path from Sarah’s story to your success might look long, but it’s paved with actionable steps. Here’s how you can make it work for you:

1. Start with SWOT:

   • Look inside and out.

   • What are your strengths?

   • Where do you lag?

   • What opportunities lie ahead?

   • And what threats loom over?

2. See the Big Picture with PESTLE:

   • Understand your market.

   • How’s the economy doing?

   • What social trends can you leverage?

   • Are there new technologies to adopt?

3. Choose Your Battlefield with Playing to Win:

   • Where will you compete?

   • How will you win?

   • More importantly, decide what you won’t do.

4. Grow with ANSOFF:

   • Are you expanding markets?

   • Introducing new services?

   • Or is it about penetrating existing markets deeper?

5. Leverage Your Assets with VRIO:

   • What do you have that others don’t?

   • How rare and valuable are your resources?

   • Organize them to capture value.

6. Make Strategic Choices with TOWS:

   • Combine your SWOT findings.

   • What strategies emerge?

   • Use your strengths to seize opportunities and fend off threats.

These tools aren’t just theoretical; they’re practical.

Like Sarah, start with an honest look at your business.

Pull in your team. Debate, discuss, draft. Strategize on paper first, then execute with vigor.

Diving Deeper

I highly recommend the book Playing to Win. Written by former Proctor & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley and Dean at Rotman School of Management Roger Martin.

Also, if you’re a fan of TED Talks, check out this short and impactful 6-min talk by Bill Gross: The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed.

Connecting the Dots

Sarah’s journey from a static loop to soaring success is a narrative of transformation. It’s a testament to what a well-crafted strategy can do.

She moved from feeling stuck to navigating her business through a clear, actionable roadmap.

With the right strategy, like Sarah, you’re not just aiming in the dark. You’re finding the right targets and hitting them.

Until next week, stay brilliant my friend.

Justin

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For inquiries, reply to this email or schedule a free introductory call. Looking forward to working with you!