Build #61 - Aiming small, founder-led growth, life and work

Hey there,

It’s Simon here with today’s quick issue of Build - my newsletter read by more than 1,400 founders taking an intentional approach to growing their businesses.

But before we launch into the three most interesting things I’ve seen recently, I’m excited to share something new with you.

In July and August this year, the Build Summer Series is going to be featuring guest authors. I’m really excited about the different perspectives this is bringing to Build readers.

I’ve got some brilliant guest authors lined up already but there are a couple of spare berths, so if you’d like to write for the Build Summer Series, drop me a line with some examples of your previous articles and what you’d like to contribute to Build.

But for now, let’s get back to it and check out some links:

1. Creating founder-led growth

This article explains why founder-led growth needs to be a focus and how delegating growth too early can cause wider problems. It gives a straightforward playbook for what founder-led sales can look like, using tight learning loops and making sure that growth is a team game.

My take: There’s a lot of noise around this topic and I tend to steer clear of most articles that claim to have playbooks or growth hacks. But this one does a good job of setting out clearly what founders can do to build growth in their business.

2. Business should serve your life, not consume it​

Justin Welsh provides a reminder to founders about being conscious of what they really seek. He explains how his business is deliberately simple, enabling him to have the experience of work that he wants.

My take: This is a good reminder for founders to be intentional. I work with a lot of founders who are grappling with problems that they don’t love solving. Thinking about which parts of the founding experience are most rewarding to you is really important. How does the journey your business is going on relate to that?

3. Aim small, miss small

Mike Fisher takes a look at why the sweating the small stuff at work is important. He argues focusing on small, specific goals and paying close attention to minor details leads to better results and fewer major mistakes. Building habits of care and precision compound over time but need discipline to avoid calling things “good enough” too soon.

My take: This resonated with me because in my work I spend a lot of time creating systems that reinforce a meticulous approach on the highest-impact issues. Problems that we need to solve aren’t equal. Selective precision on the most important details is what really makes a difference.

That’s the lot for this week.

Don't forget if you’d like to considered to be a Build Summer Series author, drop me a line.

Until next week.

best,
-sw