Q4 starts in a couple of weeks. The race to 2027 is already on, whether we're ready to admit it or not.
In my conversations with founders, CEOs, and investors these past several weeks, a few themes keep surfacing, about growth challenges they're facing that they need to address to start 2027 strong. Sharing them here, hopefully helpful, maybe a little provocative, as you finalize your plans for 2027:
Have you honestly assessed what worked this year and what didn't, and why?
Do you actually know your barriers to growth, or just the symptoms of them?
Are you clear on what to stop doing, what to change, and what to start doing that's new?
Are your marketing activities actually grounded in a clear, differentiated brand strategy, or just a lot of stuff that sometimes is engaging?
Does your team have the capacity to execute brilliantly?
Do they have the capabilities to seize the growth opportunities you've identified?
I've sat with these questions myself, not just watched others wrestle with them. For example, as Interim Chief Growth Officer at Newman's Own, Inc. , we landed on a hard truth: a brand many people already loved, one that had quietly given away every dollar of profit for decades, needed a fresh way to introduce itself to a new generation. In just a few months we replanned and built the Pay-What-You-Want Pizza Truck. On the surface, it was a multi-city sampling tour. Underneath, it was built to capture and share real stories of American generosity, which we then rolled up into the Newman's Own National Generosity Index. It drove far more earned and social attention than the spend behind it. Most importantly, it delivered real business results, stabilizing and growing the business in key markets.
It didn't come from a strategy deck. It came from admitting the old approach had stopped landing, engaging our younger target consumer in new ways, bringing in people and resources with skills we didn't have, and building a culture willing to act quickly, experiment, and adapt along the way.
That's the part that gets lost in most growth advice: strategizing and executing are different muscles, and a plan is best executed when led by someone who has actually run a business before, not just talked about how to run one.
Wherever you land on these questions, the businesses that end 2026 focused on the right things with the right team are the ones with a real shot in 2027.
P.S. Let me know other key growth questions not on the list above that you're working to address as you plan for next year.
David Best | I. Douglas Cameron DCX Growth Accelerator | Patrick Jammet Promobile Marketing | Lois Najarian O'Neill Kelly Patterson THE DOOR
