The Key to Thinking Big: Why Senior Advisors Are Essential for Growth Strategies

In the fast-paced business world, company leaders are often caught in the whirlwind of day-to-day operations. They are constantly managing teams, making operational decisions, ensuring deliverables are met, and keeping the company on track. While this level of focus is crucial for ensuring short-term goals are achieved, it can make it difficult for leadership teams to carve out time for long-term strategic thinking. As a result, companies may miss out on important opportunities to position themselves for future growth. This is where the involvement of senior industry advisors, with 20+ years of experience leading successful companies, can make a significant difference in growth companies’ strategy rounds.

In Finland, for instance, where many companies struggle to break out of the cycle of cost optimization while top-line growth remains flat, the value of experienced external advisors can be particularly impactful. By bringing in seasoned executives with deep domain and industry knowledge, companies can benefit from a fresh perspective, strategic insight, and a wealth of experience. Below, I explore the key benefits that senior industry advisors bring to growth companies during strategy formulation and how their involvement can be pivotal in defining long-term success.

1. Overcoming the Day-to-Day Grind

One of the greatest challenges for leaders of growth companies is the sheer volume of daily tasks that must be managed. The operational demands often dominate their attention, leaving little room for broader strategic thinking. While it’s essential to keep the business running smoothly, focusing too heavily on day-to-day operations can prevent leaders from seeing the bigger picture.

Senior industry advisors bring a crucial outside perspective, unencumbered by the minutiae of the company’s internal processes. Their distance from the daily grind allows them to maintain a high-level view of the company’s trajectory, helping to identify potential opportunities and threats that may not be immediately obvious to those deeply involved in the day-to-day operations. Their ability to zoom out and focus on long-term goals is essential for ensuring that short-term actions align with broader strategic objectives.

2. Enhancing Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is a critical skill for company leaders, especially during periods of growth. It involves the ability to anticipate future market trends, understand how technological advances and macroeconomic factors will impact the business, and foresee how competition might evolve. Unfortunately, for many leaders who are deeply immersed in operational matters, this kind of high-level, forward-looking thinking can be difficult to cultivate.

Senior industry advisors, with their years of experience, bring finely honed strategic thinking capabilities. Having navigated multiple economic cycles, technological disruptions, and industry shifts, these executives can provide insight into how various factors will likely impact the business over the next three to five years. Their expertise can guide leadership teams in making well-informed decisions that take into account the broader industry landscape. This foresight can be particularly valuable in ensuring the company remains agile and competitive in a rapidly changing business environment.

3. Gaining a Fresh Perspective

Being too closely involved in a business can sometimes cloud judgment and limit innovation. When you are deeply enmeshed in the details of operations and execution, it’s easy to develop blind spots or become resistant to ideas that challenge the status quo. This is especially common in companies that have been doing things a certain way for a long time or in organizations where risk-averse cultures have developed over time.

Senior industry advisors, who have led organizations through periods of change and growth, can help break through these barriers by offering a fresh perspective. Their experience across different industries and business models allows them to identify creative solutions to problems, opportunities for innovation, and strategies for differentiation. By questioning assumptions and encouraging leaders to think outside the box, they help foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

4. Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Growth companies often face a range of challenges as they scale, from managing cash flow to building sustainable competitive advantages. In many cases, these challenges are not unique to a particular company but are common to many businesses that are expanding. Unfortunately, without experience, it’s easy for leaders to make costly mistakes.

Senior industry advisors have often encountered these challenges before, either in their own leadership roles or while advising other companies. They know the pitfalls that can derail growth efforts, whether it’s expanding too quickly, neglecting operational efficiency, or failing to adapt to market changes. By tapping into this wealth of experience, growth companies can avoid many of the common mistakes that hold back scaling businesses, ensuring that they continue on a path of sustainable growth.

5. Leveraging Industry-Specific Knowledge

While general business acumen is valuable, having deep industry knowledge can be a game-changer when it comes to formulating strategy. Every industry has its own unique dynamics, competitive landscape, and regulatory environment. Leaders who lack deep domain expertise may overlook critical factors when developing their company’s growth strategy.

Senior industry advisors, who have spent decades working in specific industries, bring an in-depth understanding of the key drivers of success in those sectors. Whether it’s knowing how to navigate complex supply chains, understanding the nuances of customer behavior, or anticipating regulatory changes, these advisors can provide highly specialized guidance that helps companies avoid missteps and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

6. Navigating Technological Disruption

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for growth. Digital transformation, automation, and the rise of artificial intelligence are reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace. Companies that fail to adapt risk being left behind by more agile competitors.

Senior industry advisors with experience leading companies through technological disruption can provide invaluable guidance on how to navigate this evolving landscape. They can help growth companies identify which emerging technologies are worth investing in, how to integrate these technologies into their operations, and how to stay competitive in the face of digital disruption.

7. Boosting Competitive Intelligence

Understanding the competitive landscape is a key component of any successful growth strategy. However, it can be difficult to maintain a clear picture of the competition when you are deeply involved in the internal workings of the company. There’s a risk of focusing too much on your own business and not paying enough attention to what competitors are doing.

Senior industry advisors often have extensive networks within their industries and a deep understanding of competitive dynamics. They can provide valuable insights into how competitors are positioning themselves, what strategies they are employing, and where the market is heading. This competitive intelligence can help growth companies anticipate competitive moves and make strategic choices that ensure they stay ahead.

Conclusion: Strategic Value in Finland’s Business Landscape

In Finland, where many companies are stuck in a cycle of cost optimization with stagnant topline growth, the value of bringing in senior industry advisors cannot be overstated. These advisors offer not only a fresh perspective and strategic insight but also a wealth of experience that can help companies navigate the challenges of scaling and seize growth opportunities.

By leveraging the knowledge and expertise of senior executives who have led successful companies, growth businesses can make more informed strategic decisions, anticipate future challenges, and ultimately achieve sustainable growth. In a world where competition is fierce, and the pace of change is accelerating, the guidance of experienced advisors can be the differentiator that propels companies to new heights.

 

-Petri Toljamo-

Writer is Group CEO and Founder at HT Growth Partners (HTGP)