Here’s a fact worth paying attention to: businesses that develop healthy, resilient behaviors are significantly better positioned to withstand disruption than those that don’t. McKinsey research found that organizations in the top quartile for healthy, resilient behaviors were more than 40% less likely to face bankruptcy than organizations in the bottom quartile. (McKinsey & Company)
That brings to mind an old saying:
“Life is 10% how you take it and 90% how you make it.”
The percentages may be more philosophy than mathematics, but the lesson behind them is especially relevant for business owners.
You can't control the economy. You can't control a new competitor entering your market. You can't control interest rates, technological disruption, changing customer expectations, or the next unexpected challenge.
But you can control what you do next.
At Business Growth Alliance, we believe sustainable business growth starts by taking greater control over the parts of your business you can influence—your decisions, people, processes, strategy, technology, customer experience, and execution.
Because successful companies don't simply react to the future.
They build for it.
Stop Reacting. Start Building.
Think about the challenges you've faced over the last few years.
Some probably came completely out of left field. Others may have been problems you knew existed but kept putting off.
Either way, the businesses that continue growing tend to have something in common: they adapt.
McKinsey's research describes resilient organizations as companies that don't simply "bounce back" from disruption. They use challenges as opportunities to reassess what's working, change what isn't, and move forward stronger. (McKinsey & Company)
That's a very different mindset from simply surviving the next problem.
Instead of asking:
“Why is this happening to us?”
Ask:
“What can we do about it?”
That simple shift puts you back in control.
Build a Culture That Learns
Every growing business makes mistakes.
The difference is what happens afterward.
Strong organizations don't bury mistakes or spend their energy assigning blame. They learn from them.
Maybe a sales campaign didn't produce results. Maybe you hired the wrong person. Maybe an operational process that worked at $2 million in revenue is creating bottlenecks at $5 million.
Don't waste the lesson.
Ask your team three questions:
What happened? Why did it happen? What are we going to do differently?
Then make the change.
Continuous improvement doesn't require complicated management systems. It requires curiosity, accountability, honest feedback, and a willingness to keep learning.
Stay Close to Your Customers
One of the easiest ways to lose momentum is to assume you know what your customers want.
Ask them.
What frustrates them?
Why did they choose your company?
What nearly stopped them from buying?
What could you do better?
Some of the best growth ideas you'll ever receive won't come from a consultant, conference, or management book.
They'll come directly from your customers.
Customer experience isn't simply a service issue. It's a growth strategy.
When customers feel heard, valued, and taken care of, they are more likely to stay, buy again, and tell others about you.
Use Technology to Create Leverage
Technology—and particularly AI—is changing how businesses operate.
But don't adopt technology just because everyone is talking about it.
Use technology where it creates leverage.
Automate repetitive administrative work. Improve customer follow-up. Give your team faster access to information. Analyze data that helps you make better decisions. Eliminate unnecessary steps from your processes.
McKinsey's 2026 State of Organizations research, based on more than 10,000 senior executives across 15 countries and 16 industries, identifies technology and AI as major forces reshaping how organizations create value and sustain performance. (McKinsey & Company)
The question isn't whether technology will affect your business.
The question is whether you'll use it intentionally to build a better one.
Relationships Still Matter
For all the discussion about AI, automation, algorithms, and digital transformation, business remains remarkably human.
People buy from people.
They refer people they trust.
They build partnerships with people they respect.
So don't confuse networking with collecting connections on LinkedIn.
Build relationships.
Share useful ideas. Make introductions. Help someone without immediately expecting something in return. Follow up after conversations. Stay visible.
You never know which conversation will lead to your next customer, employee, partner, mentor, or opportunity.
Know What Your Business Is Telling You
Growth becomes much easier when you stop guessing.
Your business is constantly giving you information.
Sales conversion rates. Customer retention. Marketing performance. Gross margins. Employee turnover. Cash flow. Productivity. Customer feedback.
The problem is that many business owners are so busy working in the business that they rarely have time to step back and evaluate the business itself.
That's when blind spots develop.
And small blind spots have a habit of becoming expensive problems.
You can't improve what you aren't willing to measure.
Turn Insight Into Action
This may be the most important point.
Knowledge without action doesn't grow a business.
You can read every business book. Attend every conference. Listen to every podcast. Subscribe to every AI platform.
None of it matters unless something changes Monday morning.
Pick one problem.
Identify the root cause.
Determine the next action.
Assign responsibility.
Set a deadline.
Measure the result.
Then repeat.
That's how improvement compounds.
How Healthy Is Your Business?
At Business Growth Alliance, our goal isn't simply to tell business owners to “work harder.”
Most entrepreneurs are already working hard.
The better question is:
Are you working on the right things?
That's why we've developed the FREE Business Success Quiz.
The comprehensive assessment takes a deeper look at the critical areas affecting your company's performance and growth. Once completed, you'll receive a personalized 16-page Business MRI™ Report designed to help identify strengths, weaknesses, potential blind spots, and areas requiring greater attention.
Think of it as an annual physical for your business.
Before deciding where you want to go, it's helpful to understand exactly where you are today.
Your Next 90 Days Can Look Different
You may not control everything that happens around your business.
But you have tremendous influence over what happens inside it.
You can strengthen your sales process.
You can improve marketing.
You can create a better customer experience.
You can tighten operations.
You can develop your people.
You can embrace technology.
You can improve profitability.
And you can build a business that's stronger, healthier, more scalable, and ultimately more valuable.
That's what we mean when we say:
Life is 10% how you take it and 90% how you make it.
Don't wait for perfect conditions.
Make the conditions better.
Ready to See What's Really Happening Inside Your Business?
Take the FREE Business Success Quiz from Business Growth Alliance and receive your personalized 16-page Business MRI™ Report.
Identify the gaps. Find the opportunities. Build your 90-day priorities.
START MY FREE BUSINESS SUCCESS QUIZ
Business Growth Alliance
Designing Better Businesses. Building Better Value.
www.businessgrowth-alliance.com
About the author
Alan Wozniak, CEC, CIAQP, CIEC — Founder, 10XCoach.ai
Alan Wozniak, CEC, CIAQP, CIEC, is a nationally recognised business architect, executive coach, entrepreneur, and 4-time INC. 5000 CEO with more than 30 years of experience helping business owners accelerate growth, improve profitability, and increase business value. He founded and grew Pure Air Control Services into one of America's fastest-growing companies, achieving 370% growth in four years before successfully leading its acquisition by a Fortune 500 corporation. Today, Alan serves as President of Business Health Matters, an executive coaching firm dedicated to helping business owners build healthier, more profitable, and more valuable companies. He is also the founder of MarketWell Solutions, a done-for-you digital marketing team that provides websites, branding, SEO, CRM automation, AI-powered marketing, and lead generation services for small and mid-sized businesses. In addition, he founded 10XCoach.ai, an innovative AI business coaching platform that combines executive coaching expertise with artificial intelligence to provide business owners with 24/7 strategic guidance and accountability. Alan is the author of the Amazon best-selling book The Small Business BIG EXIT: How to Build a Healthy Small Business and Exit BIG and the forthcoming So You HATE Selling: Here's What To Do Instead, which introduces his proven 7-Step Prescriptive Sales Process™. He is also a Newsweek contributor on business coaching and executive development, a sought-after keynote speaker, and a trusted business strategist whose mission is to help entrepreneurs build stronger companies, create lasting enterprise value, and achieve meaningful long-term success.