How I Think About Growth.
Most companies have more things they could fix than capacity to fix them. So the most useful thing I do isn't finding problems. It's making a call on what I find in each part of the business, what to improve, what to eliminate and what to leave alone and turning those calls into a position you can act on and argue with.
Here are the ten growth dynamics steps I use to make those calls.
The six growth dynamics I look at every time
Market Dynamics
Before I look at anything inside your company, I look at the ground it stands on. Is your category brand new, growing, flattening or filling up with look-alike competitors? Is there a real reason this is the right moment or are you early or late? How big is the total addressable market and your buying pool?. A strong funnel in a shrinking market and a strong funnel in a growing one tell two very different stories, and the right growth move depends on which one you're in.
Product Dynamics
Next I ask whether your product does any of the growth work itself. Can someone see its value quickly, without a sales call? Is the return obvious enough that a buyer can justify it to their CFO? Is there a natural reason for one user to bring in another? A product that pulls its own weight gives you a tailwind. One that doesn't mean sales and marketing spend has to produce every new customer, and that changes what a realistic growth plan looks like.
Funnel Dynamics
Your funnel is how interest turns into revenue: where demand comes from, where it stalls between first touch and signed contract, and what it costs to win a customer and replace the ones you lose. I'm looking for the specific leak, not just the conversion rates. And I read the funnel alongside the market and the product, because a funnel problem is sometimes a sign of something further upstream.
Customer Dynamics
Winning a customer is the midpoint, not the finish line. Are customers expanding, renewing with enthusiasm, and referring peers? Or are they staying because switching is a hassle? Both show up as "retention" on a dashboard, but only one compounds. A business can look great on new bookings and still be quietly hollow here. This is often where the cheapest growth is hiding.
Money Dynamics
Every growth plan has a price tag, so I want to understand what yours can afford: your targets, your budget, how fast you're spending, and how much patience there is to keep going. Your targets tell me what leadership believes is possible. Your cash position tells me what's actually allowed. The gap between those two is usually where the real conversation about growth begins.
Human Dynamics
Finally, I look at who actually owns growth. Not what the org chart says, but who makes the calls and who's accountable when the numbers miss. Does that responsibility sit with one person, or is it spread across so many desks that nothing moves? The best strategy stalls without a clear owner. And since these are the people who will act on whatever comes next, this is where I close the loop.
The four growth dynamics I bring in when the situation calls for it
Monetization Dynamics
When the product and the funnel both look healthy but growth still isn't compounding, I check pricing before assuming it's an execution problem. That means how you price, how you package your tiers, how easily customers can grow their spend with you, and how often your team discounts to close. These are decisions, not just financial results, and they're often the single biggest lever in the room.
Capital & Governance Dynamics
If you have investors and a board, I need to understand the pressure they're applying. Picture two companies with the same cash and the same burn. One board is funding eighteen more months of aggressive expansion; the other wants a path to profitability by next quarter. Those companies will behave very differently. Funding stage, runway, and what the next raise requires often explain targets that look puzzling from the outside.
Operating & Systems Dynamics
This one runs underneath everything else. Can your organization actually see what's happening in its funnel, its customer base and its finances? Is the data trustworthy, are the tools connected, and is there a regular rhythm for reviewing what's working? If not, decisions are being made on a story rather than evidence. If new systems or processes make sense, I will recommend them.
Risk & Dependency Dynamics
I save this for last, as a stress test on whatever I'm about to recommend. What could break the story? Maybe one customer makes up a third of revenue, or a founder carries every key relationship. Maybe a regulatory change or a cheaper substitute is on the horizon. This isn't a growth lever so much as a check for fragility. It's better to know before you commit to a plan.
How it comes together
Looking at all of this is only useful if it leads somewhere. So within each dynamic, I sort what I find into three calls: improve it, eliminate it, or leave it alone. Eliminating is usually small and specific: a channel that fills the pipeline with deals that never close, a pricing tier nobody buys, a discounting habit your sales team has come to rely on, a weekly report nobody reads. Leaving something alone matters more than it sounds, because knowing what not to touch is part of the answer.
Once everything has a call, the picture turns into a clear position: here is where growth will come from, and here are the two or three decisions it rests on. That's what I hand back to you. Not a long list of findings, but a stance you can act on, and argue with.
What working with me looks like
I work with founders and senior go-to-market leaders at companies in Canada, the US and the UK, drawing on 20 plus years in venture-backed SaaS, founder roles and fractional growth leadership.
We start with a conversation, usually 45 minutes, where we walk through these dynamics together. No preparation needed on your side. By the end, most people already see their growth more clearly.
If it makes sense to go further, I spend two to three weeks going deeper. I'll need two or three hours of your time, conversations with three or four people on your leadership team, and access to the numbers you already track. It ends with a written position and a working session where your leadership team pressure-tests it.
After that, you decide. Some teams take it from there on their own. Others keep me on as an advisor while they execute, and when a company needs someone in the seat, I step in as a fractional marketing and GTM leader.
If that sounds useful, let's talk for 30 mins.