Many CEO's have to operate in a split personality mode, like Dr Jekyll and My Hyde when it comes to business growth. Most of the time they are in an operational or ‘in the business’ mindset and only occasionally do they actually take time out to focus ‘on the business’.
The operational ‘in the business’ questions demand capability, decisions and action. They are operational mindset questions and require urgent attention.
The second are more transformative questions. They demand answers to what this business could be? They are questions that lead to a growth mindset. They are important rather than urgent. They take time and require discussion, dragging management and teams out of their operational comfort zones. Yet they are where the magic happens.
The ‘Power of 10’ questions get growth onto the agenda. Imagine for a moment how Marc Benioff, founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, inspired discussion about growth with questions like:
- How will we transform revenue growth to 10 times the size it is today?
- How will we get our CRM system implemented 10 times more quickly?
- How can we acquire 10 times more customers per year?
- How can we grow recurring revenue by a factor of 10?
- How will we increase revenue per customer by a factor of 10?
You get the idea. Discussing the ‘Power of 10’ leads to real growth conversations and demands follow on questions like:
- How would you scale customer acquisition?
- What would your management team look like?
- What new processes would you require?
Yes sure it’s a bit scary. However, you have a choice. Listen to the operational mindset and stay ‘in the business’ as usual. Or occasionally, put your Dr Jekyll hat on and ask the difficult questions. Why not schedule a management meeting today and ask your team to debate the ‘Power of 10’? It might be a first step to transforming business growth.
