The constant refrain I hear from almost every business owner I meet is "Get us to the next level."
Ah.. the illusive "Next Level" and the very real feeling of stuck.
What it means is different for every business but many of the factors that block reaching it are surprisingly the same.
The answer, as usual, is not some "magic bullet." Instead, the elements that had fueled earlier growth have run out or been forgotten. The business has hit a wall. Your Business has Bonked.
For a runner, "Bonking is when the body runs out of much needed sugar energy and is forced to turn to other, less efficient, sources of energy. Sugar is the only thing the body can use for energy, so when it runs out it has to convert protein (muscle) into sugar. This conversion process has serious side effects and when a marathoner reaches this point they are said to have bonked."
For a business, that sugar (or fuel) is:
1. Persistent Innovation
2. A structure that is designed/built to support the company you want to be and not the one you are now (critical distinction).
3. Clear, specific and measurable 1,3 and 5 year goals
4. Relentless execution (A plan without action is only a wish)
Combine them and you will have the sustained fuel your business needs to keep moving to ever higher levels and never Bonk. If you do not take the time and space to "refuel" then your business will not have the reserves to power through "stuck."
Remember, owning (and growing) a business is a marathon not a sprint.