When you aim for growth, but the numbers don’t add up

When you aim for growth, but the numbers don’t add up

Most businesses want to grow year-on-year. While it might be framed differently for each one, for example, establishing a growth mindset, becoming agile or disrupting the market, it all ultimately comes down to the same desire for growth.

A few companies achieve an annual growth rate at percentages that are difficult to fathom. But they are the exceptions. Or the unicorns, as some like to call them. For the rest of us growth percentages lie between 15 and 25%. This incline helps businesses to weather inflation and factors in cash reserves to foster growth and manage speed bumps up ahead. But sadly, the numbers don’t add up. And here’s why.

Creating understanding matters more than you think

When it comes most businesses’ strategy – essentially the plan that will drive growth – only 40% of managers and 10% of staff understand it. Even more alarming, 64% of companies have a customer value proposition (CVP), but only 2% of staff can explain it simply. So, they struggle to communicate the value they offer customers? Yup, that’s right. Ouch!

The bottom line

If your staff don’t get your business, your customers won’t get it either. In essence, it’s like trying to break a land speed record with only half an engine. It’s never going to happen. Positive vibes and rally cries aren’t going to change that. The numbers simply don’t add up, and the reasons are relatively simple.

Your communication is too complex. Why? Because simplicity is difficult to achieve. And as business leaders, we tend to put all our effort and energy into the financial and technical side of things. These areas feel more tangible.

Your staff and customers are diverse – from different ages to varying levels of experience and understanding. Many of them come from different cultural backgrounds. Basically, they are not you. They have not lived with the strategy or CVP in their heads for the last year – like you.

Research firm, Gartner, used a simple graph to show the link between understanding and performance. They found a direct correlation between employees’ understanding of how their role impacts the strategy and the performance of the business. By helping your staff understand their role in achieving growth, you can improve performance by 10%.

So, the next time you think about how smart you can be, consider how clear and simple you can be instead. Explain your strategy using stories, graphics, and analogies. Your staff and customers will thank you for it.

Need help?

At We Explain Stuff, we create understanding for our clients. And we can do the same for you with complex products, services, and strategies.

• Use our Diagnostic Tool to identify the gaps holding you back.
• Book a Strategy Workshop where we solve the problems together.
• Let us develop the tools you need to create understanding for your staff and customers.