NIRVANA: STRATEGIC INTENT

Unleashing the Power of Strategic Intent for Business Growth

As business advisors, we often find ourselves at the crossroads of strategy and execution, helping clients envision their future while defining the path to achieve it. In this journey, strategic intent is not just a guiding star—it is the very DNA of leadership and organizational success.

Strategic intent informs vision and mission, creating a framework for transparency and collaborative accountability. When embraced, it becomes the beacon that empowers leaders and their teams to chart the course from today's realities to tomorrow's aspirations.

Leadership vs. Management: The Crucial Differentiator

Leadership inspires; management implements. A leader communicates strategic intent with clarity, allowing teams the flexibility to innovate, strategize, and execute in alignment with the overarching goals. This latitude empowers teams while fostering ownership, collaboration, and relentless pursuit of excellence.

This distinction is masterfully captured in General James Mattis's book, Call Sign Chaos. A cornerstone of Growth-Drive’s C3D Certification Program, the book emphasizes the disciplined art of developing and communicating intent—a fundamental trait of exceptional leaders.

Helping clients Define Strategic Intent 

The real challenge for us as senior professionals is guiding clients toward total clarity on their strategic intent. Intent should transcend the boundaries of business, aligning with a broader life story. What legacy does the client wish to create? How will the business contribute to this vision?

Once intent is crystal clear, it becomes possible to craft a mission and tempo that systematically evolves the business from its current state to the robust engine required to deliver success.

The Case of Diane: A Lesson in Intent and Execution

Let’s consider Diane, the CEO of a manufacturing business generating $54MM top line. Her goal? To net $20 million from the business sale by 2030, requiring an M&A valuation of $51.3 million. Currently, her business holds a maximum value of $31 million, with $18 million in transferable value.

In simple terms, Diane needs to nearly double her business's value while enhancing its Strategic Capacity™ to attract the right multiple in an M&A deal.

Armed with this clarity, Diane can articulate her intent to her senior leadership team:

"By 2030, I intend for us to recapitalize the business at a minimum $54 million valuation. If successful, we will share this victory with the entire team. To achieve this, we must grow profits and elevate our strategic capacity—refining processes, fostering innovation, and operating as a best-in-class business."

This statement sets a clear benchmark, creating alignment and accountability across the organization. But achieving this requires three critical actions:

1. Communicate intent clearly: Diane must ensure her leadership team understands her vision.
2. Gauge buy-in: Are her leaders committed to the goal?
3. Align incentives: Compensation and performance metrics should reward progress toward intent.

Why Time Matters

A recurring pitfall for many clients is ambiguity about timelines. Rolling 3–5-year plans often lack the specificity needed for execution. Diane’s five-year plan to double her business’s revenues and capacity underscores the importance of defining a concrete timeline for strategic initiatives.

Putting Intent into Action

For Diane to succeed, her leadership must "take the reins," driving execution with precision and accountability. Weekly scorecards, regular communication, and transparent metrics ensure that every team member knows the stakes and their role in achieving the vision.

A Framework for Business Advisors

At Growth-Drive, every engagement begins by guiding clients toward clarity about their strategic intent. This includes doing the work through which clients get clarity about:

• The desired value of their life's work
• How their goals impact their family, stakeholders, and community
• The consequences of failing

Once intent is defined, we can move to analyzing the business, ensuring every strategy aligns with delivering success.

Final Thoughts

Strategic intent is more than a tool—it is the heartbeat of effective leadership and organizational growth. By helping clients define, communicate, and align with their intent, we create the foundation for success that resonates far beyond the boardroom.

As advisors, our role is to ensure that intent drives strategy and that strategy fuels results. In doing so, we help clients transform their businesses into legacies, fulfilling both professional and personal aspirations.

This approach is at the heart of Growth-Drive's philosophy: Clarity leads to strategy, strategy leads to execution, and execution leads to results.

We'd love to know what you think: please comment here or email blog@growth-drive.com

Hey! Do you want to build a profitable advisory business, expand your professional network, and learn techniques you can apply to your business and engagements immediately? The Growth-Drive Summit is on for October 6-7-8 2025 here in beautiful Charleston SC. Add your name to the list - and block it on your calendar NOW. On behalf of the entire community, thank you. -George