Why is 10% growth a path to failure

Before we get there, I want you to think about this:

What does it feel like to see your peers or competitors land the projects, clients and achieve the kind of growth you’ve dreamed of but haven’t reached?

I bet you know that feeling. It's not your favorite one, but hey, you'll quickly find a rationalization strategy to bypass emotions, swallow it, and the life goes on.

We're meeting over not-so-decent asian, but the place is cozy.

We've worked together in a past, but we're mostly peers, so that's a friendly chat. He and his partner run a small creative production studio. I remember admiring their standout production taste, great cinematography and editing, miles away from commercial cookie cutter stuff.

The chat ends cheerfully over a drink, but one thing strikes me, not letting pass without a thought.

"We've been continuously growing, about 10% year to year".

That is over the last decade, if not more.

Well…

I'm far from personal judgement, but since I embraced the advisory path, this deserves a wider perspective.

If you're a creative firm over a hundred, or a company in whatever sector - be it banking, legal, insurance… 10% steady growth rate hits some marks.

But I've seen companies coming out of nowhere and growing at a lighting bolt pace, from five to fifty and beyond in just a year or two. Making me, and many peers envy of the deals and creative impact.

From my own experience, I recall a bit awkward situation while getting the final decision on mortgage (buying our own studio was one of the best decisions I made). I had to explain to the analyst why the hell we're hitting 300% revenue growth over the last year. Analysts? Expect the unexpected.

Back to 10% — totally understand the comfort.

This is often considered a satisfactory business baseline. And if you make it to 15% — even better. We see these small, but regular achievements as stepping stones, validating our current business strategy as effective. Moderate increments ensure stability and better risk management.

But is it really so?

How realistic is your current growth rate in sustaining your business long-term, especially considering market inflation, increased competition, economic downturn and AI?

What if you faced personal issues, that require you to stop working your ass off?

Are you sure these 10% is what you truly want settle for as an objective?

And, after all, what is the longest wave you can ride in the creative sector?

Having run creative firms across two decades, I'm past 5 pivots, and counting. What was each of the waves? Probably 3y at the shortest and 7y on the long end.

This taught me that ambition, seeing farther, and thinking bigger is not a luxury — it's necessity.

So let's stir it up a bit. Time to outgrow our expectations.

• What if slow, but steady growth is just a false metric, keeping many of us in the survival-mode disguised as paradise?

• A myth that hinders true creative and financial potential?

• What if it actually poses a greater long-term risk by failing to keep pace with market changes and competitor advances?

• Could small, regular achievements be diverting attention from thinking big and leaping bolder?

• What are the real costs — personal and professional — of remaining in the comfort zone?

• Perhaps settling for small incremental growth is actually setting us up for failure?

Settling for 10% growth feels like aiming to survive. Do true leaders really care about the spreadsheets? Maybe developing your business shouldn't be about filling gaps — but about creating new horizons?

Let's go back to the question from the very beginning.

This uncomfortable feeling. Let's hang in there for a minute. And come up with a better framing.

Imagine, looking at your competition stealing the deal you wanted so badly, and reaching heights you know you're capable of and always desired. Or just these firms ahead of you. Or those at the top, that your creatives (and everyone else) scrape for "references".

Witnessing competitors' success is not just a challenge; it's a call to action.

• What if we see it not as a threat, but as a reflection of what is possible in your market?

• What if we try to shift mindset from incremental to exponential growth? If you had no fear of failure, what growth target would you set for the next year?

And thinking more practically?

• How do you justify continuing in the same operational pattern when it hasn't led to significant growth over the last few years?

• What specific market opportunities are you potentially missing because of staying in the safe zone?

• If your business were to fail in the next year, what would you wish you had done differently?

Outpace, don't just pace.

Outgrow your own expectations.

This one is a bit different. Because effective leadership is not as much about giving answers, as it is about daring to ask the right questions.

So — question everything.

Till the next one.