“There are no quick wins in business – it takes years to become an overnight success.” – Richard Branson
It is human nature to want a quick fix for every problem.
The proverbial “silver bullet” that will slay fearsome creatures with one shot.
The prospect tempts us every day:
- Take this diet pill, and lose 5 pounds in a week…
- Buy this stock, it is certain to double in the next quarter…
- Execute this marketing tactic, and you will double your sales pipeline by the end of the year…
You get the idea. We all seek the easy solution. Oh, and, we want it to be painless too.
So, here is a news flash: It doesn’t exist.
Sorry.
There is no silver bullet.
The Conversation That Inspired This Article
I had a conversation with a good friend of mine last week. He was curious about my fractional Chief Marketing Officer services, and the focus on helping organizations grow. He wanted to know what the answer was…as if I had discovered “the” secret to growth and packaged it up for sale!
I explained to him the process I go through to help organizations unlock their growth potential.
It is a discovery and development process. It requires introspection. Honesty. Creativity. And, hard work.
It often involves asking difficult, sometimes uncomfortable, questions.
The “answer” to the growth question is not canned, but is as unique as each organization is.
Therein lies the rub.
Many leaders naively look for that secret marketing formula, or magical sales elixir that will fuel exponential growth for their business.
The reality is, in 99% of the cases, the big growth you see in an organization today is the result of a lot of hard work (the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears!) that took place over the course of many months or years.
What we are seeing is the compounding effect of multiple aligned actions, which taken together, over time, result in growth.
There is no silver bullet for growth.
Growth is Not Easy
Business innovation and growth are not easy.
It is easy to look at companies like Apple or Google and jealously think how easy they must have it. With their $Billions of market capitalization and a huge army of employees, they seem to effortlessly turn out a steady stream of great products and services which everybody wants.
The dirty secret is we are only seeing their successes. These are innovation-driven organizations that are constantly experimenting, testing, and refining new offerings. They invest huge sums of time and money into the effort, and have a well-developed playbook to bring them to market. Rarely do we see their failures because they have quietly killed them off and moved on.
Everyone wants the quick fix, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to be willing to put it all out there. I call it ‘the secret to being an overnight success,’ which means there really isn’t such a thing as an overnight success! The secret is you work really hard for 10 years, and then you become an overnight success. – Jon Gordon
True, there are those rare companies that get lucky and realize stratospheric, seemingly overnight, growth. Sadly, most of them do not survive in the long-term because they failed to build a solid foundation or invest in a sustainable business model.
There is no silver bullet for growth.
What to Do Next?
So what should you do if you are seeking growth for your organization?
First, make sure you really are ready for growth.
Next, take a disciplined and methodical approach to develop the best strategy for your organization from the ground up. A great place to start is by answering these six fundamental growth questions.
If you are feeling stuck, a fractional CMO can provide immediate assistance.
The harsh reality of the VUCA forces in our world is there are no silver bullets.
You need to be prepared. Have a plan. Execute (MFGSD) relentlessly. Expect the unexpected. Pivot quickly and adapt to changes. Keep on moving!
-Full speed ahead