Section 05 · Grow · Where and how should we grow?
Strategy & Growth
6 modules · Where to grow, and how to grow without breaking.
Part of the GROW curriculum. Access all GROW modules: USD 71.28. See GROW access →
The business competes on everything and wins on nothing in particular. Price becomes the only argument.
Why it mattersStrategy is the practice of choosing where to compete and how to win there, and, just as importantly, what the business will not do. A clear position concentrates investment on the capabilities that matter, makes decisions about opportunities easier and makes the business harder to copy, because a coherent set of choices is far more difficult to imitate than any single one of them.
You leave withA clear statement of where you compete and why you win.
Related: M01 What Is the Business Really Selling? · M52 Growth Strategy · M45 Customer Segmentation · M50 Pricing
Open M51 →Growth happens by accepting every opportunity. The business ends up in markets it doesn't understand.
Why it mattersGrowth options differ in their risk, their cost and their fit with what the business already does well. Evaluating them deliberately allows the business to pursue the growth that builds on its strengths and to avoid expensive distractions.
You leave withA prioritised set of growth options with a sequence.
Related: M51 Competitive Strategy · M53 Growth Economics · M38 Financial Decision-Making · M56 Capital and Funding
Open M52 →Revenue grows, but so do costs, cash needs and complexity. Profit doesn't follow.
Why it mattersUnderstanding the economics of growth allows the business to choose a growth rate it can fund and manage, and to recognise when growth is destroying value rather than creating it.
You leave withA growth model showing the cash, capacity and profit effects of your plan.
Related: M34 Working Capital · M56 Capital and Funding · M54 Scaling Operations · M02 How the Business Makes Money
Open M53 →What worked at 20 people fails at 70. Errors and complaints grow faster than revenue.
Why it mattersScaling requires the business to become repeatable, with standard work, clear measures and a rhythm of review that function without the founder present. Without them, growth multiplies problems rather than profits, since every flaw in the original operation is reproduced at each new site.
You leave withA scaling-readiness check and the standards needed before the next step.
Related: M13 Standard Operating Procedures · M42 Management Rhythm · M53 Growth Economics · M18 Organisation Design
Illustrative teaching cases: Growth Broke the Business · The Second Branch
Open M54 →The business depends on one customer, one supplier, one system or one person. Nobody has written that down.
Why it mattersRisk management does not mean avoiding risk, which would mean avoiding business altogether. It means choosing which risks to accept and preparing for those that matter. A business that has done so can act quickly when an incident occurs, because the response has been considered in advance.
You leave withA risk register with owners and mitigations for your top risks.
Related: M61 Business Continuity · M58 Governance · M46 Customer Profitability · M56 Capital and Funding
Illustrative teaching case: The Big Customer
Open M55 →The business needs funding to grow, but doesn't know how much, what kind, or what lenders will look for.
Why it mattersThe right capital, at the right time and on the right terms, can allow a business to pursue growth it could not otherwise fund. The wrong capital can drain its cash through unsuitable repayments or, in the case of poorly structured equity, transfer control of the business away from its founders.
You leave withA funding plan matched to the use of funds.
Related: M38 Financial Decision-Making · M53 Growth Economics · M34 Working Capital · M58 Governance
Open M56 →
Also in Grow: Customers & Sales