It’s exciting to think about how our business can grow and it’s terrifying to think about what might happen if it doesn’t.

We have 24/7 access to the people who have had success and the platforms they publish on are designed it to hook you.

You probably have growth tactics that have been sent to you. Some that you’ve asked for and some you haven’t.

But even the uninvited might get opened if the subject line promises more leads and more revenue.

I’ve been there and I also read (and tried) those tactics.

And I know they don’t always work. We follow the steps but there always seems to be something missing. A part of the process that’s not explained in detail and when you go to implement them it’s not the hockey stick that was promised.

Are we getting the whole truth?

To communicate simply we simplify. I like to write about the places in business where there’s no right and wrong answer. I enjoy the ambiguity and the thousands of factors you need to understand to work out what’s happening.

But it’s hard to make sense unless you strip some things away to explain one concept at a time.

And that’s what’s happening when you read these stories of growth. They have been boiled down into narratives and presented as models and systems.

This both makes sense of its moving parts and makes it feel like we could put it into practice ourselves.

Cynically, you might say that making it sound simple is also in the self-interest of the creator. If their framework becomes widely adopted you can build a personal brand and a career on it.

What they leave out: the uncomfortable truth

The result is they often gloss over the reason these tactics are difficult to make work. They have a pre-requisite that isn’t mentioned. The reputation, context, opportunities, audience size and entire history of the person who implemented them.

You aren’t that person. You don’t have these things. Their audience, or reputation, or experience, or resources.

The tactician has the proof

  • They grew their agency to £Xm
  • They get Y leads each month.
  • They are the incumbent for amazing company Z

And they share how they did it:

  • They run an event
  • They write content
  • They network

But there are huge barriers to you pulling off the same tactics right now.

Those events get attended because of the person’s profile. That content gets read because of the projects they have done. their emails get replied to because they have clout.

They can get that meeting. They can open doors.

And you’ll have all of this one day. I hope my emails will explain how to go about getting it.

But you maybe don’t have it yet, and you can’t get it overnight.

History rewritten

These tactics also aren’t a sure fire thing.

They’re recounted as the primary driver in the growth of that person’s business. And packaged up as an initiative. All credit given to the visionary inventor.

I’m not taking away from the talent, insight and borderline genius of some business leaders. But even the best were not in complete control. None of us are. We all got to where we are partly through luck. There are as many equally talented people who tried the same thing but didn’t make it because the context or the timing was off.

This too is left out of the frameworks.

The truth is that these businesses grew for a thousand different reasons and those reasons compounded. Reputation builds reputation. Winning clients wins more clients.

And when the entrepreneur is asked how they did it they reverse engineer what happened.

  • We love to be the star of our story
  • It’s not very compelling to say we got lucky

It’s not a scam, we all do it. What about you? If I asked you how you got as far as you’ve got. Would you explain to me the actions you took or would you tell me the things outside of your control? (It probably depends if you are happy with where you got to).

It’s human nature to make it about us. But it’s not the whole truth.

We get what we ask for

But we are also to blame.

When a business leader speaks, we want “actionable” and we want examples.

In every podcast interview, the host knows their audience is looking for things they can do themselves today. So they ask for them. And if you don’t give them, you’re not on the show.

We want to hear how it’s done because otherwise it feels unattainable. It’s not motivating to hear this isn’t all in your power.

But some of it feels unattainable becauseit isunattainable, at least if you are expecting to attain it today.

As much as the person promoting their tactic doesn’t want to tell you that, you also don’t want to hear it.

You are hoping for that silver bullet—the magic process that was going to bring you more growth. And you keep clicking and scrolling, so that content keeps appearing.

There’s no shame. I’ve done that too. This is a by-product of having the drive it takes to run your own business.

However, you have to find your own discipline to shut out the noise and do the hard work.

The good news

All you need to do is put in the time.

Build your own stellar reputation. It takes years, but not more years than you have.

Create your own valuable network. It takes effort, but it’s not difficult.

I used to look up to other agencies (and I guess now I look up to other newsletters?).

I would think, “How are they so advanced in their thinking and so defined in their positioning?”

Are they more talented than me? Are they better strategists, better thinkers?

And no doubt, there are more talented people than me, and you, and all of us.

But those businesses are not operating to different rules or on a different plane.

They’re just further down the line.

The line that you are on.

See the journey behind the tactics

The key is to not get distracted. The tactics aren’t useless, but you have to add the ingredients:

  • Reputation
  • Relationships

Look at how they got those. See their full journey as something to take inspiration from.

You are going to get there the same way they did. Over time. Bit by bit.

So stick around and then suddenly, one day, as if by magic, you’ll find you can make pretty much any tactic work.