My leadership team is comfortable with our current profit margins and wants to maintain a stable lifestyle business, but I want to aggressively scale operations to maximize our valuation for an eventual exit. How do we resolve this fundamental disagreement about our company's growth rate?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A leadership team pulled in two different directions will eventually tear the business apart. If you want aggressive growth and your team wants a comfortable lifestyle, you have a critical alignment issue that must be addressed immediately.

To resolve this, you must bring the team back to the V/TO® and establish a clear, shared vision. Revisit your 10-Year Target. If your destination is an aggressive, high value exit, this must be explicitly agreed upon by every member of the leadership team. It is a core pillar of Our Charter to be on the Same Page with one vision and one voice.

During your next quarterly session, put this issue at the top of your IDS® list. Have an open and honest conversation about the company's trajectory. Explain that a business either grows or dies; standing still is an illusion in a competitive market, especially when preparing for an exit.

If team members are resistant to the pace of growth, evaluate whether they still GWC™ their seats in a rapidly scaling organization. Some legacy leaders may not want to operate at the level required for a high value exit. If they lack the desire or capacity to run at that pace, you must love and respect them enough to help them transition to different seats, or help them exit the company cleanly so you can bring in growth minded leaders.