Across industries, there is much talk about the importance of ea “Growth Mindset“for entrepreneurs and managers of established businesses.

There are countless studies out there – such as this one presented by Harvard – which highlights how companies focus on growth through NEW and investments often exceed those stuck in the status quo, which tends to stagnate or fall behind.

But what exactly does operating from a growth mindset look like? In an article titled Why having a growth mindset is critical to company success,” he points out how Microsoft developed a culture around this mindset to prevent falling behind in the fast-paced world of technology. In 2014, CEO Satya Nadella shifted the culture from one of bureaucracy to one of growth and worked to develop system-wide processes for a growth mindset to be instilled among all employees, from entry-level to senior executives. In the article, a Microsoft employee summed up the company's culture, saying it changed from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all.”

“Learn it all” is the key here. It's easy for entrepreneurs and others to think they've mastered everything they need, and they rarely look for learning opportunities. In a world that moves as fast as ours in almost every possible way, this is one self-destructive mindset. “Learning it all” doesn't just mean attending conferences and reading white papers that pertain to your business; very important applies to “learn all” about your business.

However, “learning all about” the pros and cons of your stream business processessystems and growth programs can be daunting. Just like looking under the hood of your car, you may be forced to see leaks, cracks, and other problems you didn't realize you had because, like your car, your business is still running. However, you must face the downsides if you want to get into the fast lane and keep up with your competition.

Facing what you don't know what you don't know is important to growth. You may understand your product category, but do you know how to create lead generation and sales programs that bring you qualified prospects? Do you know how to nurture these into conversion and lifetime value? Do you know how to configure IT and optimize operational processes? productivity and enables you to achieve more with less?

The key to growth is facing your weaknesses and strengths—and getting help when you need it. Business managers find it easy to sign up for SaaS products that enable them to manage payroll, HR needs, account management, customer relations and communications for monthly subscription fees. But how likely are you to subscribe to growth-focused services or set aside time each month to focus your time on growth initiatives? Concentration and constant activity are the keys to success.

What does a continuous growth plan look like that you execute and monitor every month? Here is a glimpse.

1. Check your status quo

Since no one is a master of all things, you should find experts who can audit the areas of your business that you can and should learn more about. This may include auditing your digital brand presence, offerings, business model, sales processes, customer onboarding and success programs. Your systems for information technology, financial management, customer transactions, project workflow, systems monitoring, etc. Experts can quickly identify where you are losing money and efficiency, and identify opportunities.

Your audit should include identifying expectations and aspirations from customer groups and looking for ways to add value, both tangible and emotional, to your products and brand experience.

2. Stay on top of trends

Take the time to stay on top of technology and other changes affecting your industry. Monitor consumer attitudes toward your category and brand to identify issues that may change purchasing behavior and brand loyalty.

3. Invest in your business

To succeed in any category, you need programs and systems that enable you to operate at high levels of efficiency so you can focus on innovating new products, services and systems to increase your efficiency and competitiveness. You should lead with new ideas and not always try to catch up with others who move faster than you. To do this, you need to invest in systems and technology that allow you to automate processes for workflow, customer and account management, accounting and more so that your time can be used for innovation.

4. Prioritize marketing and sales

If no one knows about your brand, it's fair to assume you won't get many new leads and sales. marketing it is more than consciousness. Marketing helps define your brand values ​​and build relationships that drive sales, loyalty and referrals. It also communicates your values, such as CSR and ESG, that matter to consumers, leading to stronger relationships. Consumers choose brands with similar values. Look a McKinsey study that supports this.

All these processes enable you to continuously learn about your business, its strengths, opportunities, risks and weaknesses.

The most important element of growth? Continuity! Setting up your company for growth is not a one-off initiative. It is an ongoing process that permeates all systems, such as those identified above, and must be monitored, managed and executed daily. As Microsoft illustrates, it should be the foundation and core of your company culture. Every employee and contractor you use should be growth-obsessed, which means always looking for ways to differentiate yourself competitively, to add more value to customers, to imagine new ways to make old things better,

Setting up regular processes or finding partners who can do this for you with growth as a service model to keep you ahead should be a top priority. You can read about these and other growth strategies in a new book published by Entrepreneur Press, “Market Your Business – Your Guide to Do-It-Yourself Marketing.”