David Manela’s Post

A really big lesson from leading growth was to not just settle for repeatability in the growth processes. And this was a wild realization for me at the time because I thought that's what I was supposed do to. Turns out that that I was, but that's not all. What I was focused on was on clearly defining and documenting standard processes. For growth teams, this means establishing systematic approaches to how we manage campaigns, leads, and conversions. It's about setting a baseline of structured methods that ensure consistency across all growth initiatives. But then I had to learn to shift from just having defined processes to managing these processes through data-driven insights. This includes analyzing conversion rates, tracking engagement at each stage of the funnel, and understanding where leads drop off. It's about leveraging data not only to track outcomes but to make informed decisions that refine our growth strategies actively. And once that was in place I had to focus on continuous improvement. For a growth team, this means constantly testing new hypotheses, integrating feedback into the growth process, and striving for innovation in our approach itself so that we're constantly enhancing them. So the question shifted from, "Is our process repeatable?" to "Are we optimizing our growth strategies effectively?" It made me look beyond establishing reliable systems and move towards actively refining and enhancing these systems to better meet our goals. In practice, this means building a culture that values data and feedback, where every member of the growth team is encouraged to look critically at their work and push for continual improvement. It’s about embracing a mindset where the process itself is subject to growth and refinement—just like the markets we operate in to stay competitive and effective in how we execute on growth.

We are achieving 5X of our annual revenues and have a great market share, so Why I need a STRATEGY? ✨Actually you are growing for many another reasons : 1-You may choose a Trendy industry that gets booming with the massive behavior changes nowadays. (surely you know what means by Trends) 2-Strategy is in your Mind and reflected through your actions as a CEO with the team, Now you have a small team so you can manage but the next step will be totally different. 3-You are lucky enough, the Growth is more than your deviations, so you don’t care. 4-We can’t name this Growth as a Sustainable Growth, you run a one shot sprint that will be ended, not a marathon. STRATEGY First, it always helps you in every stage you take. STRATEGY will support you short gains and also the long gains but when it crafted very well. STRATEGY shapes the direction that you will take during the journey. BE SIMPLE BE VALUABLE #businessstrategy #growthstrategy #businessdevelopment

Here's a trap waiting for all new Heads of Growth: Metrics as a blocker of common sense. Let me explain. Growth ultimately boils down to hitting certain numbers in a specific timeframe. But this can lead to tunnel vision with metrics, which is dangerous. Most of this danger comes from companies incentivizing their teams based solely on numbers, which can lead to counterproductive behaviors or shortsighted decisions. It sounds obvious to say it but its vital to inspire actions that contribute to long-term goals and sustainable growth, rather than actions that chase short-term wins to hit a fleeting target. Metrics should serve as a compass—a way to navigate and make informed decisions—rather than a checklist of destinations to reach as fast as possible. They should resemble a dashboard in a cockpit, offering multiple vantage points to assess the company's health and trajectory. A comprehensive dashboard provides a multidimensional view of performance and potential pitfalls. The potency of a metric-driven strategy lies in the questions it prompts you to ask. This is why the best growth leads employ metrics to close knowledge gaps and verify assumptions. For instance, analyzing if high-scoring leads convert better than others can tell you about the accuracy of your lead scoring model and prompt strategic adjustments. Questions should test the utility of knowledge, not merely affirm it. Now, not everyone speaks the language of numbers with equal fluency. This is why growth leads either have to develop a strong analytical acumen or they have to onboard a data-savvy person who can distill complex information into actionable insights and interpret what they mean in the context of the business and the market. In essence, a strategic approach to metrics is about fostering a culture of intelligent analysis. It’s about recognizing that metrics are not the goal but rather a means to steer growth judiciously so that every step forward is a step in the right direction. Sounds like common sense, right?

Growth is messy, nonlinear. We establish and realise it each day I'm sure. Through my conversation with Shayamal Vallabhjee (yes, he's been a monk too) I took back a different pov on metrics. To embrace metrics as tools, not absolutes. It's true that fixed metrics can miss the spark of sudden understanding, the quiet resilience that builds character. But when we use metrics as a tool to track out own journey, the growth gets the spotlight. Metrics capture the dips and climbs, the setbacks and breakthroughs. They remind you that progress isn't always smooth, but it's happening. They're the pat on the back we definitely need. Point to note: Celebrate qualitative wins - the courage to try something new to even the empathy shown to a loved one. So, engineer metrics. Not to become a number, but to empower your journey. Let them be our compass and our growth GPS. https://lnkd.in/ddxvnMHU

Why Growing Pains Are Good (If You Address Them Right) Growth is a great problem to have… until the cracks start showing. When businesses scale, growing pains can lead to disjointed teams, inefficiencies, and lost revenue. But what if these “pains” are a sign that you’re on the right track? The key is addressing them before they derail your progress. A case in point: I worked with a business turning over $20M per year. Their rapid growth led to stretched resources and misaligned teams. Within 3 months, we streamlined their operations, realigned leadership, and increased staff engagement by 25%, while reducing costs by 30%. 🛠 How we did it: - Regular alignment sessions to refocus the team - Introducing scalable processes for smoother operations - Fixing communication gaps to get everyone on the same page This sounds simple, the key is understanding the root cause of the growing pain, not addressing the symptoms. Once the root cause(s) are known, it relentlessly staying to true to executing the solutions that fix the growing pains for good. Did you know? Research shows that 72% of fast-growing businesses experience these growing pains. But with the right strategy and focused execution, you can turn them into growth accelerators. Is your business experiencing growing pains? Let’s talk about how to address them and turn them into success.

“A problem well stated is a problem half solved” - Charles Kettering I have been following Matt Lerner's thoughts on growth for a few years now and was excited to read his recent book “Growth Levers". I was already familiar with different parts of it but the book does a great job of pulling a handful of ideas together into a single, coherent thread. It's one I will keep referring back to and it gets a double thumbs up recommend from me. 👍👍 Here are some things that I noticed: 1. Understand your customer’s journey I fully subscribe to the idea of JTBD and have used some of Matt’s resources around this in the past. The three distinct phases he describes really resonated with me as a way of understanding the whole journey. Struggle, Search and Selection. Seeing the journey with these phases in mind made a lot of sense. 2. Map your growth model This was the area that I probably need to spend a bit more time with. Because it feels important but also because I have practiced it less. But the principle is straightforward enough. Visualise and describe how a business finds, acquires and delights customers. Put data around it, spot the bottle necks and identify the feedback loops that need nurturing. 3. Run growth sprints This is an area where I feel most confident. As a rule of thumb, we did this well at Tutorful and we could see the results pretty quickly. That said, one new idea was articulating problem statements as negative hypotheses to reduce the risk of confirmation bias. For example “we believe prospects are not doing X because of Y”. This fits really nicely with the 3 Bs from Irrational Labs that I wrote about a few weeks ago. 4. Shift the mindset Where steps 1-3 are practical, this is more shift from thinking about optimisation to thinking about discovery. One question really stuck out to me was: “What customer said that?” It’s easy to lose track of customers’ real goals and language. This question is a useful forcing function to keep real customers at the centre of our thinking. Have you found any other good resources on growth? Let me know in the comments 👍🏻 if you enjoyed this 🎙️ add your thoughts ♻️ repost for your network

Stuck in Stagnation? 3 Signs You Need a Growth Strategy Refresh 🔃 Hitting a wall on your growth charts? We've all been there. But hey, stagnation is a chance to pivot, not panic! Have you ever felt these roadblocks? 1️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬: Missing new trends or customer needs? 2️⃣ 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬: Stable numbers can be comfy, but are you missing opportunities? 3️⃣ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐭: Remember that ambitious vision? Is it still guiding your decisions? ☀️Let's refresh! How can we stay ahead of the curve? Share your experiences & questions below! Have you faced similar challenges in your business? What strategies have worked for you? #businesscapability #growthstrategy #futureofwork

Growth is messy, nonlinear. We establish and realise it each day I'm sure. Through my conversation with Shayamal Vallabhjee (yes, he's been a monk too) I took back a different pov on metrics. To embrace metrics as tools, not absolutes. It's true that fixed metrics can miss the spark of sudden understanding, the quiet resilience that builds character. But when we use metrics as a tool to track out own journey, the growth gets the spotlight. Metrics capture the dips and climbs, the setbacks and breakthroughs. They remind you that progress isn't always smooth, but it's happening. They're the pat on the back we definitely need. Point to note: Celebrate qualitative wins - the courage to try something new to even the empathy shown to a loved one. So, engineer metrics. Not to become a number, but to empower your journey. Let them be our compass and our growth GPS. https://lnkd.in/d9ZXCb62

“Don’t push growth; remove the factors limiting growth.” - Peter Senge When you’re trying to grow a company, become a better leader, and find the effortless performance you imagine, this is the low-hanging fruit. This is the fuel you already have. This is how you get really good. But people almost never look for what limits them. At work, we look for better advice, better models, a new framework. We latch on to “best practices” that worked for different people in different companies in a different time and imagine these will be the magic key that unlocks how great we imagine ourselves to be. We’ll find someone or something new—anything from a new hire to a new management system to a different type of personality test—and that’ll be the thing to overcome all the stuckness we feel day to day. It never works—at least not for long. Yes, the initial excitement of something new can be pretty thrilling. We say we’re driven by logic and data, but trying a new thing is pure emotion. We envision our success and feel the surge of optimism that comes with that. But that’s not where sustained performance starts. It’s a mirage, a false peak. That new thing is external, and it makes a little more noise than the other external things in the daily drain. It’s shiny and new, and it won’t stay that way. Removing barriers is how you get better. All this stuff builds up—even that shiny new initiative—and becomes a part of the status quo—the very thing you were trying to change. And when you add to the stuff outside of you you’re trying to overcome, it adds to the effort it takes to change. Odd that trying too hard to change actually makes change harder. It amplifies the factors limiting growth. Subtraction can be far more powerful than addition. It helps you see more clearly. It declutters your mind and your company in a Marie Kondo-style purge of everything that keeps you numb. Growth doesn’t need a push—it needs room to breathe.

Time for growth! 📈   I have recently been asked an interesting question.   A company wants to double its revenue in one of its secondary divisions within three years. What strategy should be used to achieve this and what are the main challenges that need to be addressed?   The creation and implementation of a growth strategy is associated with a number of challenges. 🔹 Market analysis: a comprehensive analysis of the market in which the company operates is crucial and includes the identification of trends, competitors, customer needs and potential opportunities. 🔹 Competition and market saturation: The industry in question is characterized by intense competition as well as high market saturation due to a large number of competitors. A differentiated strategy is required in order to grow successfully in such an environment. 🔹 Customer acquisition and retention: Acquiring new customers is crucial for growth. One point that is often underestimated and therefore regularly neglected is the retention of existing customers. Customer acquisition and retention requires effective marketing and sales strategies as well as a high level of customer orientation. 🔹 Cultural and organizational challenges: Growth may require changes in organizational culture and structure, which can lead to resistance and uncertainty among employees and managers. 🔹 Resource constraints: Often, limited financial, human or technological resources can make it difficult to implement a growth strategy. It is therefore important to set realistic goals that can be achieved with the available resources. 🔹 Business model adjustment: Sometimes the desired growth requires an adjustment of the business model in order to adapt to new market conditions or to open up new business opportunities. This can be an extremely complex and time-consuming task. 🔹 Risk management: Growth always involves risks, whether financial, operational or strategic. Managing these risks requires careful planning and monitoring. 🔹 Technological change: Technological developments can be fast-paced and challenging, especially when it comes to keeping up with new technologies or updating outdated systems.   To overcome these challenges, it is important to develop a comprehensive and well-thought-out growth strategy based on sound analysis and a clear understanding of market and business dynamics. Flexibility, adaptability and continuous review are also key to responding to change and growing successfully. #growthstrategy #businessgrowth #marketanalysis