Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] If your business is growing, but you're still stressed, stretched and stuck working too many hours, you might not have a growth problem. You might have a balance problem. Because here's the truth.
[00:00:11] Sometimes growing your business is actually what's breaking it. You're listening to why your business isn't growing and how to fix it. The business growth podcast for small business owners and SME leaders who want to scale, lift team performance and Sharpen leadership without 60 hour weeks.
[00:00:28] G'. Day. I'm Brendan Rogers and thanks for joining me today. I want to flip a belief that quietly drives so many business owners into exhaustion, that more growth automatically means more success.
[00:00:42] But here's what I've learned after coaching hundreds of owners and leaders.
[00:00:46] Growth isn't always good growth.
[00:00:49] Sometimes it exposes the cracks you didn't even know were there.
[00:00:53] You might have strong revenue, new clients and a bigger team, but underneath your systems are strained communications breaking down and you're carrying too much.
[00:01:04] It's not that you're failing, it's that your growth is uneven.
[00:01:09] You've built one side of your business faster than the others.
[00:01:12] And that imbalance is what's making everything feel harder than it should be.
[00:01:17] And that's exactly why I created the SME impact triangle.
[00:01:22] It's the visual model that helps you see at a glance where your growth is strong and where it's brittle.
[00:01:29] Let me share a story. I remember working with a client and I'm going to call her Sarah. Sarah's business had doubled in revenue over 18 months. She'd hired people, streamlined systems, and attracted really great clients.
[00:01:43] From the outside, everything looked successful. But internally, she was running on fumes.
[00:01:48] Her team was making mistakes, she was redoing work, and she couldn't find time to think.
[00:01:54] When we mapped a situation on the SME impact triangle, it became crystal clear. Her business side, the systems structure and strategy, had shot up fast. But her team side hadn't caught up. And her leadership rhythm was still reactive and not strategic.
[00:02:11] In other words, her triangle was lopsided. That's what made her growth brittle. Once she saw it, she stopped asking, how do I grow more? And started asking, where do I need to grow next? That's the mindset shift that changes everything.
[00:02:29] Now let me break it down for you and dive into the three sides of the SME impact triangle.
[00:02:35] @ the bottom of the triangle is the leader, which is you. This is all about self leadership. Your mindset shift from here is moving from reactive to strategic.
[00:02:46] Because if you're reacting to problems all week, you're Leading from chaos and not clarity.
[00:02:52] The focus is on your clarity, rhythm and decision quality. It's about setting direction, making space to think and leading with intent and not impulse.
[00:03:03] Then on the left hand side of the triangle is team, which. Which is them.
[00:03:07] This site is all about your people, their capability, accountability and culture.
[00:03:13] The mindset shift here is moving from directed to empowered. It's moving away from telling people what to do to creating the environment where they can own what they do. The focus here is building capability, giving feedback and building trust. And also maintaining a rhythm of accountability that drives performance.
[00:03:35] And the right hand side of the triangle, well, that's business, which is the it.
[00:03:39] This is about systems, strategy and predictability.
[00:03:44] The mindset shift here is moving from volatile to predictable because inconsistent results come from inconsistent systems.
[00:03:54] The focus here is structure, data, systems and processes that create sustainable, reliable growth.
[00:04:02] This is where you make business performance repeatable.
[00:04:05] At the center of the triangle is what I call impact quality. It's where your leadership, team and business meet. And your growth here is only as strong as your weakest side.
[00:04:18] When one side of the triangle dominates, you get what I call brittle growth.
[00:04:23] Fast but fragile. When all three grow together, you. You get long term impact, sustainable, balanced growth that feels easier, calmer and more consistent.
[00:04:35] And that's what every SME owner actually wants, even if they don't know it yet. So here's the real lesson.
[00:04:42] Your business doesn't grow because you push harder. It grows because you build balance.
[00:04:49] When your leadership, your team and your systems grow together, you get performance you get can trust. That's how you move from feeling reactive and overwhelmed to feeling confident and in control.
[00:05:02] So before you double down on more marketing or more staff, ask yourself this.
[00:05:07] Which part of my triangle is out of balance? Because if you fix that, growth gets easier everywhere else. Time for some reflection. Here are three quick questions to help you assess your own SME impact triangle.
[00:05:21] First one is the leader, which is you? Am I reacting to the weak or leading with rhythm and clarity?
[00:05:28] Second part is team, which is them? Is my team empowered and accountable or still dependent on me for progress?
[00:05:36] And third, business, the it. Are our results consistent and predictable or do we rely on heroic efforts to deliver?
[00:05:45] Now, your honest answers will show you exactly which corner needs your focus first.
[00:05:50] Now, I want to make this as simple as possible. So I've created a free tool called the Balance Audit. It helps you identify which part of your SME impact triangle, leader, team or business needs attention right now. It takes five minutes and it'll show you whether your growth is balanced or brittle, so you can focus on what really moves the needle. You can grab it free and at LeaderByDesign au BalanceAudit because the first step to fixing your growth is understanding where it's already out of balance.
[00:06:24] You've been listening to why your business isn't growing and how to fix it. The Business Growth podcast for SME owners and leaders who want to grow stronger teams, build confident leadership, and create sustainable business growth.
[00:06:37] If today's episode resonated, find, follow the show and share it with a business owner who's ready to build balance before burnout. Grow yourself, Grow your team, grow your business. Go lead with impact.
