Some companies keep climbing, while others plateau – and the difference often comes down to where leaders focus their time and energy. Kevin Lawrence is founder of Lawrence & Co, co-author of Scaling Up, and my co-host for 166 episodes of The Growth Whisperers. 

Kevin explains why growth only happens when CEOs stay in the cockpit, fix their eyes on opportunity, and summon the courage to push forward – especially when the business starts to feel comfortable. Improvement is necessary, but it’s not enough. Real growth requires being future-focused, externally engaged, and bold enough to make the tough calls. 

Takeaways 

• CEOs must stay in the cockpit, focused on opportunity, not internal distractions. 
• Improvement matters, but without growth initiatives, companies eventually lose momentum and stall. 
• Courage fuels growth—fear pulls leaders into safety, comfort, and missed opportunities. 
• Many strategic plans look impressive but fail to drive real customer expansion. 
• Earned growth comes from delivering value so exceptional that clients do the selling. 
• Loyalty to underperforming team members can quietly kill momentum and stall progress. 
• The best CEOs spend most of their time engaging directly with the market. 
• A strong team allows leaders to focus on long-term vision, not firefighting. 

Follow Kevin Lawrence
https://lawrenceandco.com/ 

The Growth Whisperers podcast
https://evolutionpartners.com.au/podcast-tgw/ 

Books on this episode
The Four Forces of Growth by Kevin Lawrence https://a.co/d/iNhnHlI
Your Oxygen Mask First by Kein Lawrence https://a.co/d/dyxsA4F
Better Simpler Strategy by Felix Oberholzer-Gee https://amzn.to/4qmPaoe 

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

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Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/ 
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster. 

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