Five ‘Rule-Breaker’ Moves for Business Growth (That Most Leaders Won’t Dare Try)

by | Aug 26, 2025 | Exit Planning, Growth Plans, Growth Strategies, Marketing Strategy

Summer is gone – at least in my neighborhood. I wore a sweatshirt to walk the dogs today. Fall is fast approaching!

Now! This week! Before the post-Labor Day business boom really starts is a great time to shift gears in your business too.

Here are three (unconventional) action steps to shift gears on your business growth plan before you have to start raking leaves:

  1. Host a “Failure Harvest” Session Invite your leadership team or advisors to openly list the initiatives, habits, or systems that haven’t produced as expected this year. Let go of what didn’t work—consciously and without blame. You can’t scale growth on last season’s weeds.
  2. Borrow Best Practices from a Different Industry Examine how a leading company outside your space solves its biggest challenge—then adapt one of their strategies to your world. Innovation often comes from seeing with fresh eyes.
  3. Map Your Decision Bottlenecks Instead of just prioritizing to-dos, track where decisions traditionally get stuck in your fall workflow. Identify one or two chronic points of drag, then redesign the process to empower faster, smarter calls—whether by assigning authority, presetting criteria, or simplifying communications.
  4. Schedule Your Strategic Isolation Day Put one full (uninterrupted) day on your calendar sometime in September—no meetings, emails, or routine tasks. Dedicate it to exploring one question: “What’s the boldest move I could make this quarter to reshape the business’s trajectory?” Record every idea, no matter how disruptive.
  5. Reach Out to a Contrarian Peer Find someone in your professional network who regularly challenges your assumptions (even if they annoy you a bit!). Ask them what they think you’re missing as you enter the new season—then really listen. Sometimes, your blind spots are your biggest growth lever.

🍁 The greatest business growth this fall won’t just come from doing the “right” things—it’ll come from seeing differently, letting go, and challenging your own patterns.

What’s the most unusual step you’re taking to accelerate growth before year-end? Share your boldest fall move or send me a DM for a 15-minute “gear shift” brainstorming session.

#BusinessStrategy #ExitPlanning #GrowthMindset #LeadershipInnovation #SeasonalShift