Growth needs steady speed
From our blog / Article
In business, as in cycling, navigating growth requires a balanced approach. Entering a curve too quickly can lead to a crash, just as driving your team at full throttle towards summer without preparing for what comes next can result in lost momentum.
Growth needs steady speed
Imagine riding a bicycle at full speed into a steep curve. Enter too fast, and you lose control, risking a fall and a broken arm. However, if you approach the curve at an optimal speed, braking if necessary while keeping your eyes on the path ahead, you’ll navigate it smoothly and emerge with maximum speed.
This scenario mirrors business operations. Pushing your business at full throttle towards the summer break can lead to a sudden halt. When you overload your team with critical tasks—like finalizing the operational model and rethinking the company strategy—just before summer, you risk driving everyone to exhaustion. Many of us are too focused on wrapping things up instead of looking further into the future and preparing to get as much exit speed as we can.
Summer isn't a magical band-aid
Often, we focus so intensely on the present that we neglect future preparations. Summer won’t magically rejuvenate our burnt-out minds and bodies. Summer is, after all, just a season.
All that time many of us spend wrapping up the first half does very little to enable us to achieve maximum exit speed for autumn. To put it simply, wrapping up doesn’t guarantee you the speed for what’s to come.
Ask yourself:
- What are you anticipating when you return from your summer vacation?
- What is your team excited about when they come back?
- How have you ensured they will not only come back, but come back with maximum speed?
- Do you and your team know what to expect from the next half? Or are you going eyes-closed towards the next segment?
“Clear direction and expectations enable your organisation to achieve maximum speed”
Growth-enabling leadership has its eyes on the next segment
Achieving maximum speed requires not only braking at the right moments to avoid crashes but also maintaining focus on what lies ahead. Ensuring that everyone has the resources they need and proactively identifying potential obstacles is crucial. Everyone should understand their role in the future and what’s expected of them. While cruising isn’t an option for successful growth, perpetual crunch mode isn’t sustainable either.
In consulting, where no two days are the same, looking ahead is even more crucial. Ensuring that every person’s individual path to go forward is clear and heading in the right direction assures your whole business will get there too.
To maintain visibility and relevance during transitions like summer vacations, year-end, or quarterly changes, consider these strategies:
Build clear visibility to the future
What’s next? What happens when you return? Align expectations and direction.
Create and maintain routines
When will we meet again? What are our team’s touchpoints? Scheduling future actions fosters security and belonging.
Clarify roles and responsibilities
As the business evolves, reassess roles and responsibilities. Never assume; always ask.
In the fast-changing days of consulting business, it is more often that people do not actually know how they can bring their best effort to the game. Not because they don’t know what they are capable of, but because they don’t know what everyone else is doing or even where the business is heading.
A real goal gives everyone a real destination
Ensure everyone knows their part and how they can contribute in building the future. In a fast-paced consulting environment, clarity on individual contributions and business direction is key.
If you asked your team, ‘How do we know we have succeeded?’ would you receive consistent answers? You might be surprised by the variety of responses.
Reflecting on the questions in this blog can help you gauge whether you’ve been overly focused on wrapping up the first half or have successfully set the pace for your team’s future. Ultimately, the speed at which you enter the curve matters little if you lose momentum for what’s ahead.
