Cultivating Success: The Art and Strategy of Business Growth

To non-gardeners, the blooming of a lush garden can feel like an act of sorcery. “How did you manage to grow all that?” they might marvel. The simple truth is that a masterful gardener knows they cannot claim the garden’s growth as their success alone. They may have ensured the right conditions and provided the garden with the right layout, sufficient water, soil, and light to optimally grow, but the plants themselves did the work. The same is true for a Founder/CEO and the growth of their business.

Seth Godin alludes to this in his article "Kash's Garden." The Founder/CEO sets conditions for growth and the garden does what it does best: grows.

Although this metaphor rings true, it ignores other crucial steps required for building a successful garden: choosing the right seeds, structuring the garden, and planning for the garden’s growth with each season.

A company needs more than favorable conditions to grow to its full potential. It requires deliberate selection, nurturing, and even pruning. A Founder/CEO doesn’t just set the stage; they provide a compelling Vision for growth and actively engage in the process of turning growth into reality.

Strategic Hiring: The Right Seeds for the Right Soil

Some seeds slowly grow into large plants that provide shade, while others quickly pop up, adorned in colors that attract pollinators. In gardening, selecting the right seeds for the right soil is as crucial as preparing the ground for planting. When hiring for a business, the same rule applies. Each team member, like each plant and flower in a garden, serves a specific purpose and has growth potential.

When we consider how our business evolves, we must consider the people who are part of the business. For a business to succeed, we need to consider each person’s Competency, Commitment, and Capacity (CCC) for the job they are tasked with, and how they embody your organization’s Core Values. We want our people to be able to do their job, want to do the job, and can fulfill the job, while also living and exemplifying what we believe in.

Although the task of hiring the Right People for the Right Seats can be lengthy and even difficult at times, it’s there to ensure your business continues to grow over the long run. Moreover, this practice ensures your people continue to contribute and flourish throughout your organization’s growth and scaling.

Structural Design: Planning Your Business Garden

A gardener meticulously plans the garden’s layout and considers various environmental factors to ensure the plants grow to their full potential and thrive. Similarly, effective leaders design an organizational structure that supports the company's Vision and goals and creates a clear and efficient framework for growing an organization. An effective organizational structure starts by determining the essential jobs the organization needs. Then, this structure teaches how to organize those jobs into different levels based on the required skills and abilities.

When planning our garden, we must first decide on the function our garden will fulfill as a whole: will the garden provide fruit or will it be ornamental only? Will it allow for visitors to walk through it or will it grow wild? Then, we can decide on which functions each plant has. Concepts, tools, and disciplines provided by platforms like Ninety, such as our Vision Builders Workbook, Vision documentation and sharing tool, Org Chart tool, and To-Dos manager, play a critical role in ensuring that the Right People are in the Right Seats and contributing the essential ingredients associated with creating a focused, aligned, and thriving organization.

Scalable Growth: Expanding the Garden

Just as many thriving gardens typically start small and then expand their size and plant variety over time, business growth should also be scalable and manageable for long-term success. Even the most ambitious gardener cannot plant an entire acre on day one. Instead, they begin with a manageable plot which they can dutifully tend. From there, they add plant variety and observe, learn, and adapt to what works best in their particular plot of land as it grows.

In business, this slow and intentional growth translates to a Vision that considers the natural development stages that every business experiences on its way to becoming a great company. Time-tested tools like Ninety’s Data, Meetings, and 1-on-1 assist companies in this process by offering insights into current performance and potential areas for growth that before may have been inaccessible.

The Role of the Leader: The Gardener's Touch

Successful business leaders, akin to skilled gardeners, demand active engagement. It involves making strategic decisions about what to nurture and how to adapt to changing environments. It's about cultivating not just a team or a strategy, but an organizational culture that aligns with the company's Vision and goals and informs its everyday functions.

It’s not an easy role. But with the right tools and support, your organization transforms from manageable to blooming.  

Nurturing the Garden for Success

Gardening is a laborious activity that requires work on and off the plot. It requires planning, structuring, and constant communication. Similarly, building a successful organization requires a hands-on approach from its Founder/CEO. Business leadership combines the art of choosing the right team, the science of structuring an organization effectively, and the foresight to plan for scalable growth. The most productive gardens, and by extension, successful businesses, are the result of careful planning, strategic thinking, and a willingness to adapt and evolve.

A good gardener understands how to cultivate a healthy and flourishing garden. They do this by knowing how to combine all the elements needed, laying the groundwork, and protecting the garden enough to let nature take its course without ill effects. A good Founder/CEO is the same — they are an active participant, and they’re the person responsible for whether the company thrives or withers away. That's why it's so crucial that this gardener has the right tools needed to tend to their plants and make them thrive into a lasting and successful company.

In the end, the role of the Founder/CEO transcends that of a mere facilitator. They become the architect of a dynamic ecosystem where every element, from the smallest seed to the overall garden design, plays a crucial role in cultivating a thriving, bountiful future.