Find the Corn In Your Beans.

I drove past this soybean field and there it was. A single stalk of corn towering over the beans. Almost taunting them while doing its own thing.

There were two or three other stalks scattered nearby. But this particular one seemed especially poignant. 

At a distance, these "volunteer" cornstalks are practically invisible, blending in with the surrounding landscape. But from my up-close vantage point, this one stood out.

And not in a good or positive way. More of a "get out of the way" way.

If you're familiar with farming, you probably know volunteer corn is not a good thing, even though it doesn't look threatening. And like I said, from a distance you won't even see it. 

But it’s considered a competitive weed. It can reduce crop yields, encourage destructive pests, and complicate field management.

I’m betting volunteer corn is a good metaphor for what happens inside many companies. Especially lower to middle market companies.

Revenue is growing. Margins look good. The forecast is solid. From a financials perspective, things look great. The field is nothing but green. 

But if you look more closely, the picture is probably more complicated. 

Financials didn't show you (at least not yet) marketing channels running on habit, not analytics. A brand promise the company has outgrown. Culture norms that made sense at five people, not fifty.

And maybe worst of all, a leadership team that says they're aligned on growth, when they actually see the same business very differently.

That’s why I built the Breakout Score and Quality of Growth Report. 

Not to tell you what you can already see: a very healthy field of beans. 

But to help you see what you otherwise might not. That, in this example, there is a big cornstalk growing in your bean field. 

The rogue cornstalks will eventually hurt your return, attract other problems, and make growth harder to manage. 

So find the cornstalks in your beans with a Breakout QofG Report.

D

on't shuck around with them.