The #1 Reason High-Growth Companies Outperform the Competition

Many CEOs I talk to believe their biggest barriers to growth are external.

The market's soft. Competitors are hungry. Capital is tight.

And while there's some truth to that, it's only surface-level.

I get frustrated with this rationale, not just because it seeks to deny the reality that markets are cyclical and that we get paid to grow the business regardless of the external environment.

But also because it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what drives outsized growth.

The companies growing the fastest, building long-term value, and leading their industries aren't doing it because of perfect timing or a favourable market. If that were true, we'd all be growing at the same rate. After all, we're operating in the same environment.

When I look at high-growth companies, the ones that attract the best talent and scale the fastest, there's one consistent pattern.

They have the strongest leadership teams. Everyone is unified behind the same vision. Everyone knows their role.

Most critically, the CEO and CFO are operating as a true partnership.

When a CEO and CFO are fully aligned they create the conditions to build what I call a Universally Investible Company™.
It's a business people want to invest in, not just with their money, but with their time, energy, and reputation. Because they believe in what's being built.

Because they trust who's building it.

Stakeholders trust them. Talent flocks to them. Customers want to work with them and when they do, they stay loyal.

Even their competitors take notice of what they're doing.

There's a winning formula behind these companies. The CEO plays the role of the Visionary. The CFO, the Architect.

The CEO's role is to define the market opportunity, set the strategic ambition, and rally people around it. They need the freedom of creation to do this well.

The CFO's role is to make that vision investible and scalable. To architect the model. Ensure discipline. Bring the commercial logic to the creative ambition.

When those two roles are in sync, the business becomes magnetic.

This is exactly what we focus on inside the CFO Boardroom. And in the alignment sessions we run with CEOs, we ensure that the CFO's goals and priorities are consistently anchored to the business strategy. When this happens, we can measure directly how the CFO is creating value.

I've seen this play out firsthand.

One of my clients is at the forefront of their industry, not because they're the biggest, but because the CEO made a deliberate decision to empower the leadership team beyond himself.

The CFO is now a recognised face of the business. She's speaking to the media, presenting at industry forums and representing the company in major deals.

By empowering his leadership team, but in particular his CFO, my client has created an agile, laser focused business with a team that's deeply engaged and customers who are fiercely loyal.

That's the shift I want more CEOs to make.

If your CFO isn't fully aligned with your vision, or worse, if they're not even in the room for key strategic decisions, you're leaving growth on the table.

So ask yourself this:

Are you building a Universally Investible Company?
One where you have the freedom of creation, and your CFO is empowered to deliver it?

If not, let's talk.

I work with high-growth companies that aren't content with the status quo and who are ready to scale.

If that's you, book a call today. 

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