The growth triage

Toby Strangewood at Wake the Bear considers effective decision-making in the face of critical change

Business leaders going through critical change have so much to think about that making sense of all that, and addressing big decisions quickly, can be difficult. But it can also be hugely daunting to know how to act when big decisions need to be made. 

This is an issue faced by every business, without fail, at some point in its existence. And, whether a start-up is looking to establish itself, an organisation is in full scale-up mode, or an established business is pivoting and transforming, there will be both internal and external factors influencing the opportunities and blockers to the business at any given time. 

We have devised a concept we call Growth Triaging in which we help founders and business leaders prioritise their actions based on their current situation which, when combined with a sprint or shorter planning cycle, can be hugely effective for any business navigating critical change.

When businesses are going through critical periods of change, where and how they operate will often be very volatile, meaning that having one set course or roadmap is not practical as the influences on the business are in constant flux. 

Growth Triaging is an effective and simple method for key stakeholders to identify and align on the pressures - and indeed growth opportunities - at any given time. To triage a business is to understand the issues at hand and align stakeholders on the current situation of the business, including known knowns and unknown factors that will influence its growth, such that they can put a situationally relevant plan into action.

In highly unpredictable business environments where change is fast and severe, you may want to be triaging frequently. In others, it could be once a month or quarter. We get into sprint planning cycles with many clients, starting with a triage and then deployment of a situationally relevant plan, then repeat. There is no limit as to how often this can and should happen. 

The process of conducting a triage can differ by organisation but the component, identifiable parts remain consistent. The Growth Triage becomes a triangle of targets, tolerance and territories.

By design, the three categories are broad and open for interpretation, but what they do is help a group of stakeholders define and align with the current situation or state of their business. They naturally lead businesses into the most pressing areas for them, without needing to waste time and energy doing a hugely extensive, time-consuming, all encompassing business health check; instead, it lets you zoom into what you know needs the most attention in the next planning sprint.

When looking at targets, you must consider what targets the business has at this very moment. That may be financial or cultural, or it might be based around ESG or sustainability. 

What targets have you got? What expectations of sales or growth does the business have: revenue, margin, EBITDA, customer acquisition, customer retention, Customer Lifetime Value, Average Basket Value, Customer Acquisition Cost and so on? And what pressures or opportunities are these targets causing?

Next, consider the capacity the business has to endure continued exposure to growth. This is tolerance. Tolerance can be product-related; can the product withstand the onboarding of customers at the rate expected or needed to hit its targets?

Tolerance is not only functional, relating to cash flow or cost of acquisition, but it can also be emotional and attitudinal. What tolerance does the business have to re-invest in marketing and not see short term returns, product development, or any other issue that is deemed important for growth?

Finally, weigh up territory issues. This covers everything that is external to your business, This can include macro-economic factors, cost of living, supply chain, labour and inflation. It can include changing consumer behaviours and changing trends. New competitors coming into the market, new innovation, competitors obtaining investment to catapult past you and so on. 

By using this simple construct, the key stakeholders can quickly triage. Remember, a triage is not a deep dive. By definition, it is ‘to conduct a preliminary assessment in order to determine the urgency of need for treatment and the nature of treatment required’.

This quick assessment will very often spark a series of further diagnoses or ‘treatment’ programmes - perhaps sourcing relevant data or research to back up a hypothesis, or digging deeper into an issue; it will certainly put into motion essential maintenance or action to address the issue at hand. 

There may be nothing wrong with the business’s targets, for example, or it could be that nothing can be done about it. So you move on quickly to discuss and align issues or opportunities with tolerance and territory. 

A fintech start-up, for example, may be struggling with its ‘KYC, know your customer’ process, which is a blocker to onboard and monetise its customers. This Tolerance issue could be identified as the most pressing issue the business must focus on fixing in the next working sprint.

Anyone familiar with our growth strategy process will know this is the point at which you can assess which ‘playing field’ may need extra attention or should be prioritised or de-prioritised.

Creating an effective decision-making process that can flex in the face of critical change is one of the most fundamental needs for every business, helping it survive and thrive through the most challenging factors, whether internal or external.

Toby Strangewood is co-founder of marketing communications consultancy Wake the Bear

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com