Think hard. Act smart. Grow fast.

In my early days as a professional footballer, putting in the hard yards and training was the only way to get fit. Stay on top of your game. And get better than the competition. Even then, there were no guarantees you’d win. But you had to try your hardest. Because there was no ‘smarter’ shortcut to get to the goals faster.?

Now, anyone who’s tuned into my podcasts will know I’m passionate about the synergies between business and sport. There are many lessons I learned on the pitch that have served me equally well off the pitch – and continue to do so. And when it comes to ‘putting in the hard yards’, that’s no different.??

As a business leader, I need to think hard. It’s an ethos I’ve encouraged throughout Bluprintx and the catalyst to some of the most analytical and ambitious work we’ve produced – take the new Enterprise Growth Report as an example.?

But when it comes to ways of working, success comes from more than just thinking and planning. It’s about acting smart, responding with agility. That’s what drives fast growth.??

So, how do you make fast growth last???

Sustainable growth comes from finding optimal ways of working and embedding these into the business. As a result, you waste less time exploring avenues that were always destined to be dead ends. Instead, your time and energy are only ever invested in driving real growth.???

Sounds simple in theory. Not easy to implement in practice. Here are some guiding principles I follow that consistently serve me well as Bluprintx Group CEO.??

• Align on the problem by creating a problem statement – make sure everyone is considering the same thing. You’ll be surprised by how often this isn’t the case.??
• Create roadmaps/action plans before taking action – know where you’re going, but be ready to pivot if necessary.?

• Identify where best to direct resources to have the biggest impact – then make sure it happens.?
• Bring the whole business on the journey with you – growth doesn’t happen by accident.??

I’m always open to sharing what I’ve learned about achieving my own growth goals and always happy to chat through new ways of working that we’ve implemented at Bluprintx. Get in touch if you’d like to start thinking hard. Acting smart. Growing fast.??