In Energize Growth Now, author Lisa Nirell discusses five stages of growth (startup, growth, advanced growth, plateau, and decline) and the challenges entrepreneurs face as they move from one stage to the next. The book aims to help founders and other CEOs identify where their businesses stand today and what strategies they will need to successfully pivot to more growth–rather than to slowly descend into decline.
Companies facing a plateau have two choices: (1) address and fix the roadblocks to growth, or (2) avoid the problem and threaten their long-term potential. Nirell calls the process of pivoting to advanced growth “scaling the second brick wall,” and identifies five areas of focus:
1. Repositioning
2. Developing solid distribution and referral networks
3. Defining and strengthening the company’s functionality
4. Expanding capabilities
5. Building a succession strategy
Read the details and my complete book review here.
Bonus Reading: My latest Workshifting.com post is out. The topic is Workshifting from the ICU, and it’s about the challenges of workshifting during a crisis. Plus it asks: Where’s the craziest place you’ve worked from lately?
*Disclosure: I received a free copy of Energize Growth Now in exchange for agreeing to review it–but without any restrictions on what I might say.
Photo by Christopher Sessums (Flickr).
