The CEO Anti-Growth Mindset

“If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It.” said every stuck in the weeds CEO ever.

When things are working, it's tempting to leave them alone. Why mess with a winning formula?

Because what got you here won't get you there. Markets shift. Teams grow. Customer expectations evolve.  Look, the clunky, disconnected systems that served you at $2M will absolutely break you at $10M. And now, AI is changing the game for everybody; no one is excluded — not me, not even you, my founder friend.   Are you getting left behind?  I’m not, and you don’t have to be; here’s what to do instead.

Make the shift: Embrace continuous improvement—even in small doses, especially in small doses. You don't need to overhaul everything at once. Small incremental changes will lead to big improvements. You can start with one process, one system, one bottleneck. Ask your team: "What's slowing us down?" Then fix it.

The Japanese call this kaizen, and it is baked into how they do business and life, really.  Toyota was famous for introducing kaizen to the U.S. back in the mid 80s, and it is an absolutely fascinating, ingenious process.  Kaizen isn't about perfection; it's about progress. 

And lucky for you, our team is uniquely qualified to facilitate kaizen workshops to help you get started.  It is such a fun, inclusive learning process.  Kaizen is a great way to give everyone on your team a voice.  You’ll be shocked by what your front-line team members can tell you about how things go wrong and what could be better.  Even if you don’t want to go into a full-fledged kaizen workshop, you can get started with tiny steps. Asking your team is a great start. Go ahead - give it a try.

When you’re ready for real improvement - give us a call. Through our inclusive team approach and strategic drive, we will help you prioritize changes that are the most impactful with the least amount of effort. One baby step at a time. Don’t get left behind give us a call today.