Four decisions that shape everything else. When growth feels harder than it should, the problem is usually here. Get these right and execution becomes much easier.
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In fifteen years of helping companies with growth, I've found that execution problems often trace back to four underlying decisions. These decisions are sometimes called GTM strategy, and getting them right makes everything downstream much easier.
The tricky part is that these decisions are often made implicitly rather than explicitly. You might be running two growth motions at the same time without realising they require completely different resources and metrics. You might be targeting multiple personas and wondering why your messaging feels generic. You might have positioning that sounds good internally but doesn't actually differentiate you in the market.
When growth feels harder than it should, it's worth checking whether these four foundations are clear.
Your growth motion determines how you'll acquire customers. Your ICP defines who you're going after. Your positioning shapes how you'll win against alternatives. Your unit economics tell you whether the model actually works financially.
Each decision constrains the next. And each one requires explicit commitment from leadership, not just the growth team. I can help clients think through these decisions as a fractional head of growth, but ultimately they need buy-in from founders and executives because they shape everything that follows.
This playbook gives you the frameworks to make these decisions explicitly and check whether your current approach is coherent.
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Document your ideal customer's role, goals, and challenges to tailor messaging and prioritise features that solve real problems they actually pay for.
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