Every business needs a strategy for growth, but what works for one business may not work for another. Businesses are like people — each one has its own characteristics, strengths and values, and they come in all shapes and sizes. When you’re creating a growth strategy, it’s critical to consider the individual characteristics of your specific business to ensure that you succeed in creating sustainable growth for the long term.

Whether you’re adopting a growth strategy that has already been used for a different business or coming up with your own, it’s essential to analyze it carefully to ensure that it will work for your particular business. Below, five members of Business Journals Leadership Trust discuss some clear ways to tell if a growth strategy is applicable for a business’s specific situation.

2. Align the strategy to deliver on your objectives.

It’s based on the objectives and metrics for your business. It may topline revenue, profitability, number of locations, number of employees, number of clients, number of repeat customers, social media metrics, etc. Your growth strategy should be aligned to deliver against your objectives, not another business’s objectives. – Aviva Ajmera, SoLVE KC

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