Driving Practical Growth for SMEs with the SHIFT³ Framework
- Mark O'Neil
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Today I had the pleasure of hosting the Driving Practical Growth seminar as part of the Luton Business Growth Launchpad, delivered in partnership with Step Forward Luton, Luton Council and Let’s Do Business Group, and funded by the UK Government.
The webinar was for early stage and growing business owners asking a deceptively simple question:
How do we move from good ideas to real, repeatable progress?
That question sits at the heart of why so many SME growth strategies fail.
Why SME Growth Strategy So Often Fails
Research consistently shows that around 70 percent of business strategies fail, not because the ideas are poor, but because execution breaks down. In the SME world, this shows up in familiar ways:
Plans that look good on paper but are quickly overtaken by day to day pressures
Too many priorities competing for limited time, cash and attention
Ambition that is not translated into clear strategic choices
A lack of simple metrics that tell you if progress is really happening
Growth stalls not through lack of effort, but through lack of focus and follow through.
A Practical Alternative: The SHIFT³ Framework
The session introduced SHIFT³, a practical growth framework I use extensively with founders, leadership teams and scale up businesses.
SHIFT³ is deliberately simple and action oriented:
Position → Ambition → Strategy → Sprint → One Number
Rather than creating a static plan, the framework helps business owners:
Get clear on where they really are now
Define what meaningful progress actually looks like
Make a small number of high leverage strategic choices
Convert those choices into a focused 12 week execution sprint
Align the business around one metric that really matters
This is strategy designed to be used, not admired.
Step 1: Position. Where Are You Starting From?
We began by slowing down before rushing to solutions.
Position is about honest clarity. Not aspiration. Not justification. Just reality.
Participants were encouraged to pinpoint:
The core issue or opportunity that truly needs addressing
The internal and external context shaping that issue
What is genuinely working and what is holding progress back
This is often the hardest step, because clarity requires candour. But without it, everything that follows is built on sand.
Step 2: Ambition. What Does Better Really Look Like?
Ambition is not a task list. It is a future state.
We explored how to define ambition in a way that:
Describes a step change, not a marginal improvement
Would stand up to scrutiny from an investor or acquirer
Focuses on impact, capability and reputation, not just activity
A well defined ambition becomes a filter for decision making. If it does not move you closer to that future state, it is noise.
Step 3: Strategy Through Kinetic Triggers™
Rather than using a traditional SWOT, we worked with the Kinetic Triggers™ Table.
This simple 2 by 2 approach looks at:
Internal enablers and blockers
External opportunities and risks
The discipline is in identifying only the few factors with real strategic leverage. These triggers then drive the creation of two or three clear strategic plays.
Strategy here is about choices. What we will lean into. What we will fix. What we will deliberately not do.
Step 4: From Strategy to a 12 Week Growth Sprint
Insight without execution is just insight.
Participants then translated their strategic plays into a focused 12 week growth sprint. This creates:
Momentum rather than overwhelm
Clear ownership and accountability
A rhythm of action, review and adjustment
This sprint based approach recognises reality. Markets change. Assumptions get tested. Strategy must be alive.
Step 5: The Power of the One Number
Finally, we anchored everything to a single metric.
The One Number is the measure that best predicts progress towards the ambition. It is:
Measurable weekly
Directly influenceable by the team
Aligned to long term value creation
For some businesses this might be qualified sales conversations. For others, monthly recurring revenue, utilisation, or recurring gross margin.
What matters is focus. What gets measured gets managed.
What Participants Left With
By the end of the session, attendees had:
Clearer insight into their real starting position
A defined ambition that meant something
Two or three strategic plays grounded in reality
The outline of a 12 week execution sprint
A single metric to align effort and decision making
Simple strategy. Clear metrics. Fast execution.
That is how SMEs grow.
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