{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"#137 The Four Forces of Growth: What CEO\u2019s need to focus on to sustain growth","description":"This week we're talking about a new book that Kevin is working on entitled The Four Forces of Growth. We talk about the four forces, why they matter and what you can do to focus on growth. Here's an excerpt from Kevin's website outlining the four forces of growth. The 4 Forces of Growth We\u2019re about a third of the way through this year, and it feels as if we\u2019ve already burned a year\u2019s worth of energy. Many people have slipped into troubleshooting, problem solving and pivoting within their businesses and I\u2019ve seen some amazing ways that teams have rallied to change, improve and come out stronger and more unified. It\u2019s incredibly impressive. So, now that we\u2019ve made it through this initial storm, the key is to make sure that we become masters of prioritizing and focusing on what matters most. Unfortunately, when things become more chaotic \u2013 as they likely will be for a while \u2013 and there are many different perspectives and opinions, people often put their energy where their logic tells them. And they won\u2019t find out, until a few months down the road, that it might not have been the best choice. That\u2019s when the difference between strategic thinkers and amazing executers start to show up. Some people, for whatever reason, are better at figuring out the higher impact places to put their energy, and what to leave alone. Whether this is you, or not, the key is to have the right tools to help you and your team pick what matters the most \u2013 and to ensure you don\u2019t get distracted and deluded by logical thought in an illogical time. Defying Logic From the beginning of recorded history, there have been people who pursued ideas and actions that defied logic. Like Leonardo Da Vinci who conceived a flying machine well before the Wright brothers took to the sky, or scientists in the 1700s who began to think that disease was caused by micro-organisms rather than bad blood or bad air. These unique people were drawn to hard, risky pursuits that contained very little instant gratification and, in many cases, sustained struggle and sacrifice. They were motivated and inspired by the impact of their pursuits and had the courage to push ahead \u2013 even when the logic of the day told them otherwise. Last August, I started work on a new book about this topic and, little did I realize that it would become incredibly important six months later. The premise of the book is to find a simple way to help people to evaluate their decisions \u2013 to truly understand if their priorities really help or hinder their growth. I\u2019m fascinated by people who do the unthinkable and continue to defy logic, to persevere and succeed. After much research, I chose the analogy of flight and the pilots who defy gravity for extended periods of time. CEOs and pilots are very similar, both from a leadership perspective and they ways they make amazing things happen. The 4 Forces of Growth In an airplane, pilots have to pay attention to the principles of flight \u2013 Lift, Thrust, Weight and Drag: Lift is created by the wings and contrasted by the weight of the plane and gravity. When you get lift and thrust you get altitude The thrust of the engines pushing the plane forward is fought by drag, the resistance of air. Pilots \u2013 just like a CEO \u2013 must pay attention to these principles or they\u2019ll quickly succumb to the forces of gravity. Here\u2019s how this relates to the world of a CEO and leader: Lift happens when leaders lift their heads to look at opportunities \u2013 the future possibilities that help the business to get to a higher altitude of more revenue, more customers, more profit Weight are the problems we get sucked into Thrust is the courage to push ahead, make decisions and get into action Drag is fear and doubt as we spend too much time contemplating, delay decisions and are less likely to act boldly. Opportunities and Problems, Fear and Courage are the 4 Forces of Growth that shape and define four states we can find ourselves in, at any given time: Agony, Analysis, Growth and Improvement. Growth is the result of courage and opportunity: increased revenue, new customers, new products, new services, new markets. It\u2019s solving a problem for somebody new or solving a new problem for someone you already work with. It\u2019s not about doing what you already do today \u2013 it\u2019s about expanding in some way. Growth is the accountability of CEOs who should be spending most of their thinking and action time in that box. And if the CEO is not, it\u2019s very difficult for the company to grow. Improvement is when you have the courage to move ahead but your energy is focused on solving problems. While improvement is good, it won\u2019t grow a business on its own. It can make customers happier, improve margins and costs, and streamline operations. It\u2019s wonderful and equally dangerous. This box is normally owned by the COO who needs to be focused on making things better. The challenge here is understanding the problems that need to be solved and the problems that need to be ignored. Knowing how to make the decision on which problem to focus, or not, is the value of an amazing CEO or COO. (We\u2019ll talk more about this, in future.) You could stay in this box all day long and that\u2019s the risk because problems never go away. In many companies we work with, that are really focused on growth, we leave a couple of percent in the expense structure of the business for problems that we continue to pay for, so that we can reallocate more energy into growth. These are strategic decisions that generally only a good CEO can make \u2013 to not solve problems and to not optimize all their costs so that they can grow healthily and quickly. Analysis is on the other side of courage. This is where you look at opportunities but you\u2019re fearful or hesitant to make a decision. This box is generally mastered by the CFO \u2013 the yin to the CEOs yang \u2013 who challenges and throws reality and practicality at some of the CEOs strategy thinking. That\u2019s why the CEO or CFO pairing is so critical. A certain amount of analysis is very good. We need it but, at a certain point, we also need to make a decision, a test or a move, so only being an analysis obviously isn\u2019t good. The question is how much do we need? Depending on the CEO, this can vary. If you have a very growth-oriented, visionary CEO more analysis is often needed for balance. And a fairly analytical CEO might not lead as much on the CFO for additional analysis. Agony happens when you\u2019re a fearful victim, stuck in problems, and indecisive. This is analysis paralysis \u2013 a very painful place where problems become overwhelming and you can\u2019t find your way out. This is possibly the most dangerous state of all because it can degrade the mental health of individuals, of teams and, in a worst-case scenario, the entire company. To move across the line into improvement, you need to find \u2013 or borrow or rent \u2013 the courage to do something. Generally, audit\/legal\/compliance own this box, and they need to look at problems, in order to keep us from getting into trouble. While we need to be compliant, and aware of the problems that can really hurt us, we also need to make decisions and move ahead. You don\u2019t grow a business here. A Matter of Time As you look at this model, where is your time spent? Some CEOs would say they want to be 80% growth, 9% analysis, 9% improvement and 2% agony. And others \u2013 depending on the state of their business and the strength of their team \u2013 might be 40% growth, 10% analysis, 40% improvement and 10% agony. While there\u2019s no right answer here, the key is being conscious of where you and your team actually spend your time, and to make sure your focus is in the right place. The reality is that you just can\u2019t expect to have a company that grows 30% per year, year on year, if the CEO spends 10% of their time in the growth box. Red Flags When we do strategic planning sessions with companies, we always try to make sure there\u2019s enough energy allocated to the Growth box for the company to reach its goals. And, obviously, we\u2019re always analyzing and improving things, in the business, so that it gets stronger as it gets bigger. A red flag is when the CEO of a growing company spends too much time administering or analyzing their business, versus doing the things that create growth. Sometimes these are easy distractions that may create a lot of noise and seem important, but they aren\u2019t the best use of your time.   From Kevin's blog https:\/\/lawrenceandco.com\/resources\/4-forces-of-growth   ----- * Do you love The Growth Whisperers and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. * Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show! * Follow us on Twitter @Evolution_Perth and @lawrenceandco1 Learn more about building enduring great companies. -----   ----- Links: *https:\/\/evolutionpartners.com.au\/ *https:\/\/lawrenceandco.com\/ -----     Additional episodes you might enjoy: # 50 Jim Collins Flywheel Concept: How to build unstoppable momentum in your company # 16 Jim Collins # 84 The 7 common strategy mistakes from Michael Porter # 43 The top 7 best practices for weekly meetings  # 69 What is a Topgrading virtual bench and why you need one # 88 The hidden cost of not having a team of all A-Players # 96 The three main barriers to consistent growth # 83 Why strategy should focus on producing more profit - not market share ","author_name":"The Growth Whisperers podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/thegrowthwhisperers.libsyn.com\/website","html":"