Growing Pains

My dear Growing Pains,

Oh boy, do I feel your G-Pains. The Doctor has seen this movie before and let me tell you—it never ends well when everyone’s running in different directions. It’s like herding cats, except your cats are black and gray and ran out of the house in the dark, and you had to chase after them wearing pajamas and flip flops and then pounce on them and drag them back into the house like I did this morning (true story). In other words, you’re like my cats: you’ve got energy, you’ve got momentum, but you’ve got no place to go. 

Instead, what you’ve got is a recipe for throwing seeds all over your garden, but without love and care, nothing’s really gonna grow out of the ground. It’s like Jack and the beanstalk without the beanstalk, know what I mean? Bottom line, Pains, why strive when you can thrive.

Ok, let’s start at the tippy top with the real problem. More hires, new sectors, geographic expansion—these aren’t bad goals per se but they’re not a growth strategy. That’s just a bunch of unconnected dots but none of them is connected to actual business outcomes. So, before you hire one more person, open one more office, or chase one more vertical, you need to answer a harder question: what do you want to be when you grow up? Sorry, Pains, maybe that was a bit too casual. So, I’ll put it in a more professional way: what does success look like for your firm?

Sure, you can say you want a bigger staff and a bigger footprint. But these are just ideas. Trying to accomplish any of them without deets and metrics is like pushing a rope. Look, the doctor wants you to diagnose that problem so you can really fix it. For example, are you chasing higher profits or more stable revenue? Are you trying to gain a specific market position or get different kinds of clients? Because here’s what the Doctor knows—every path to growth has different costs and timelines. Number one, you have to figure out the goal and then work backwards to create a plan for getting there.

Second, and you may know this, but I just gotta say it out loud (and really loud): your growth strategy must align with who you are and what you’re capable of doing.  Like, if you want to have a larger team, then you’re gonna need more work to keep all those hands busy and all those mouths fed, effective internal systems to keep all that work moving right along, and good business development strategies so you can keep the machine humming. Or, if you’re chasing new sectors, you may need to cultivate existing talent or recruit new hires to shore up the expertise that you don’t have yet. Opening new offices in new cities means that you need to have a strong local presence, market knowledge, and solid relationships. Need I say it, Growing Pains: no pain, no gain.

But look, the Doctor’s here to help. So, I’ll make it easy for you. Start by getting aligned on one growth priority. Just one and go from there. Figure out which path for growth gets you closest to your actual business goals by leveraging what you’re already good at. That way, you can execute it seamlessly (and without imploding—not a good way to begin the new year). 

After you’ve figured that goal out, then build a case for it. You’re gonna need some real hard numbers about your sectors or markets. Also, more anecdotal info about what your clients are asking for and what they’re telling you. Pin down your competitive advantage. But, please, don’t guess. That just upsets the Doctor. Find real evidence to support your big moves. If you focus on the details, you’ll executive the big ideas flawlessly. Build a strong foundation and your influence will soar, Growing Pains.

Once you’ve got that settled, create a roadmap with milestones. By that I mean practical, measurable steps with real accountability. Then you gotta get the leadership on board with the plan. After that, you want to communicate it clearly; think of your messaging like a strategic asset. First things first, your team needs to know your plans for growth and how they fit into that plan. Second, you have to communicate your firm’s evolution to your clients and markets. 

Short summary: make a decision, own it, and execute it. And then when you’ve mastered that first move, move onto the next. At the end of the day, you’ll stop moving fast and furious and start moving forward. 

Now go forth and win that race, Growing Pains. I know you can do it and will be cheering you on from the sidelines!

The Doctor