Imagine: Your Growth-Driving Study Group, a Front-Row Seat to Delivering Client Wins
Last week's session of the Growth-Drive study group wasn’t just another meeting—it was a masterclass in applied growth advising. We didn’t just discuss theory. You are seeing this article because your success is important to me. And as you're about to learn, your success is important to this community. This is how we roll.
We dissected a living, breathing business case: a multi-generational family-owned company operating in niche manufacturing. Equal parts fascinating and familiar, this business was stuck—not just in terms of stagnant revenues but in the deeper dysfunctions that fracture families and stall enterprises.
Imagine being in the room: The Growth-Driver leading the case brought us into the inner workings of this engagement. Under group NDA we shared case intel, financials, CLARITY data and much more. The story? Four equal owners, divided by generation and vision. Two camps: the founders who built it, the successors who wanted out. The business was producing, yes—but only just. The mood among the owners? Weary, frustrated, and ready to throw in the towel.
But rather than dive into tactics or valuations, the Growth-Driver did what we’ve all been trained to do: start with defining strategic intent.
Using the Strategic Intent discovery tools from the Growth-Drive toolkit, the advisor facilitated a series of frank, sometimes emotional conversations. The goal? To find alignment. Not false consensus, but a genuine, documented intention that could serve as the guiding star for every strategic action to follow.
The outcome: a unified intent to keep the business, but transform it—make it less of a life sentence for the next generation, and more of a platform for freedom and fulfillment. A simple phrase summed it up: keep our business, change our experience.
With strategic intent defined, we turned to the CLARITY Level 1 Report. For those unfamiliar, this is no off-the-shelf summary. It’s a Strategic Capacity and Business Value analysis—a data-informed x-ray of the business’s ability to generate predictable profits, sustainable growth, and transferable value.
The numbers told a sobering story. Low recurring revenue. No clear KPIs. Leadership misalignment. Founders acting as both rainmakers and bottlenecks. A business functioning, but not thriving.
This is exactly where the Growth-Drive framework shines. Because it doesn’t just diagnose. It equips.
We walked through each element of the CLARITY Report: Strategic Capacity Score, Value Gap, ROI Potential, etc. We stress-tested assumptions. Challenged conclusions. And then—together—we crafted a better path forward. We mapped execution levers across the Three Dimensions of Business Growth:
What makes this group so unique is not just the breadth of experience around the (virtual) table—it’s the shared methodology. Every advisor, whether CPA, strategist, M&A pro, or exit planner, sees the business through the same lens. We speak the same language. We ask informed questions. We share clarity about intent: we are all rowing in the same direction.
And because of this, we helped the presenting Growth-Driver refine the plan in real time. We added insights on governance. We debated KPI structure. We challenged assumptions around operational handoffs and succession accountability. Imagine the power this brings to our individual cases.
We trust, we're not trying to impress each other. Imagine working together to de-risk execution and increase strategic capacity, all in service of your client’s intent.
Hi! Do you want to see this community in action? Learn why you belong? Why members describe this like family? Here's your chance: the Growth-Drive Summit 2025, Oct 6-7-8 in Charleston SC. Our theme is 'Building a Profitable Advisory Business". It's immersive, not your typical run of show. Curious? All are welcome, please join us.
To the uninitiated, it might sound like another Study Group. It's not. This isn’t a talk shop. This group - imagine it's your group - is a transformation engine. And it's not just the presenting advisor who walks away stronger. Every member learns. And every client benefits: at the end of the day, we collaborate to build thriving advisory businesses driven by delivering client wins. Does collaborating in a group help deliver the win? You bet it does.
When advisors collaborate like this, using a common methodology grounded in the real levers of business performance, the impact compounds. We make each other sharper. More effective. More valuable to our clients.
So if you’re out there doing this work alone—don’t. Join us. Bring your toughest cases to your group. And together, let’s help more businesses go from stuck to best-in-class.
Do you want to learn more? Let's chat: george@growth-drive.com. or join the this free community, point-click-you're in.
PS: this closely follows the real case, we have of course tweaked the story to protect the group and their clients - as we always do. -George