How 'Good Enough' Drives Business Growth

During the pandemic, we all had to adapt to survive. Overnight, bedrooms became boardrooms and ironing boards height-adjustable desks. We had no choice but to figure things out and get on with the job.

My survival strategy was to take my business online. So, I enrolled in Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula training. And while I learned a lot about launching a product online, my biggest takeaway was something Jeff drilled into us: "Scrappy is the new perfect."

Instead of spending weeks or months perfecting a product launch, Jeff encouraged us to LAUNCH... even if our product wasn’t perfect.

At a recent Metronomics Coach Training event, founder and CEO Shannon Susko shared a similar nugget of wisdom: the notion of "good enough." She was talking us through "Gutting Out," a 3HAG or Highly Achievable Goal, a framework that paints the broad strokes of a 36-month strategic picture on a single page.

Good enough stuck with me. 

Most CEOs and their leadership teams obsess over creating the perfect strategy, then shelve it. A strategic plan isn’t something that you pull from the shelf and dust off when the exit bug bites, or at financial year-end. A strategic plan is something that must adapt and evolve continuously based on internal and external forces. 

So, instead of obsessing over creating the perfect plan, you should obsess over executing and evolving your plan. 

To be clear, a scrappy or good enough approach does not imply carelessness. Rather, it recognizes that transformation is a process, not a one-and-done. Using the Metronomics framework, there is a distinct path every team follows. The path represents systems that must be turned on and evolved to certain levels to get the results you want through three phases of growth: the Foundation Phase to the Momentum Phase to the Compounding Phase. Through each stage, your team's behavior and your strategy evolve, taking you closer to their ultimate goal.

Stages of Team Development: Metronomics Team Progression (adapted from Bruce Tuckman)

While it's important to create a good enough first version of your strategic pictures, the real work lies in the behavioral change of your team. Your leadership team must be a 100% A-Player team, at a normalized cohesive level, meaning they have gone through Tuckerman’s Forming and Storming phases and are Normed.

I recently met with a business owner who had created a two-page strategy (using the EOS Vision/Traction Organizer) several years prior. While his strategy was good enough, he had not looked at it since committing it to paper, let alone shared it with his leadership team. 

The company was in good shape but falling way short of its goals.

Had he engaged his leadership team in Gutting Out the company's strategy (good enough), implemented the Metronomics playbook (a Compound Growth System), created a place where the team could see each other play and score the game (Open Playing Field), and engaged a CEO+Leadership team coach (who understands the game), they would have 10X their results.

The three phases of the Metronomics critical growth path:

Foundation Phase

The first year is crucial for establishing a strong foundation for growth. Your team must turn on so critical systems, most importantly your Execution and Cash Systems. Think of this as your "couch to half-marathon" year. But instead of working on distance and stamina, you’re strengthening your ability to execute effectively and make sure you can generate the cash to sustain growth. You’ll also focus on creating a cohesive leadership team of 100% A Players capable of taking your business into the Momentum Phase.

Momentum Phase

The Momentum Phase is where you create speed as your team continues to evolve and ingrain Execution, Cash, and Cohesive Systems. You’ll validate your strategy by developing a new 36-month plan (3HAG) and refining your strategic pictures. In year two, with a firm grasp of execution processes, metrics in place, and cash forecasting, your leadership team gains clarity and confidence to make better and faster decisions every day.

Compounding Phase

In the Compunding Phase, you're seeing exponential results. Your leadership team is at a level of cohesiveness that we call Team Trust 2.0—they have a real-time, active feedback loop in place. Leaders can now focus on growing themselves at the same rate of growth as the business and coach the same growth out of their leaders and teams in the business.

Your progress is incredible. Leaders are coaching their teams, the board is impressed, and customers are enthusiastic about working with you. The whole team remains committed to shared goals while maintaining a work-life balance. 

And it all began with two short words.

Good Enough.

For a quick primer on Metronmics, read Shannon’s new book The M Game or send me contact me a message on LinkedIn.