There are so many ups and downs in the process of growing a business. One day, everything feels like it’s clicking; the next, it feels seemingly impossible.
So why is this? Why is it so hard sometimes?
After 22 years of coaching, I’ve found that this “roller coaster” usually comes down to three specific things that make continued growth and success difficult: Lack of Visibility, Lack of Clarity, and Lack of Focus.
While these three are all related, understanding how they impact your leadership is the key to breaking through your current plateau.
1. Visibility: Looking at What’s Behind the P&L
Too often in business—especially when things are going well—we fail to look at the systems and numbers behind the P&L to fully understand what else needs to be done to sustain growth.
We lack visibility into what is not working or what is coming next because all we can see is what’s right in front of us. That big scoreboard, your Profit and Loss (P&L) statement, tells you that you’re winning, so you just keep doing more of what got you here.
The problem is that without knowing what is behind those numbers and what is still missing in your business, you keep doing what you’ve always done. Continued growth gets harder and less profitable. You fall into the “we don’t know what we don’t know” trap.
2. Clarity: Escaping the “Murky Middle”
Another phenomenon I see regularly in growing businesses is the overwhelm that sets in as you grow. Growth means more work, and it’s easy to get caught up in the challenges that more work brings.
When we get this busy, we lose our clarity of purpose. Everything gets murky and goals start to fade. The number of things competing for our attention multiplies until we get lost.
Here is the dangerous part: When you lose clarity as the leader, it means your team likely lost it weeks or even months ago. You get caught up in the daily minutiae and start drifting without even realizing it.
3. Focus: The Right Activity at the Right Time
The third cause of difficulty relates to focus—either lost focus or the wrong focus. The same challenges that hinder clarity contribute to lost focus, as do things like complacency or self-satisfaction.
However, just as big of a limiting factor is having the wrong focus. What you need to focus on changes as your business and your team grow. There are key points in revenue and team size that should trigger a change in your focus as the owner or CEO.
Too many business owners don’t recognize these triggers because they lack the visibility and clarity to see them coming. As a result, they fail to focus on the right things for the specific stage of business they have entered.
Clearing the Path to Freedom
To sustain results and stop the drifting, every business owner needs visibility in six core areas: Mastery, Marketing, Systems, Team, Scale, and Freedom.
When you have visibility, you gain clarity of action, which creates confidence and replaces guesswork. This allows you to focus on the right activities at the right time to ensure your growth is profitable and sustainable.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’d like to know how the ActionCOACH Business Operating System (ABOS) can help you achieve the visibility and clarity you need to focus on the right things, let’s talk. Click on the link below to schedule an intro call.
Author: Mark McNulty, Business Coach in Louisville, KY