You Tell Me You Want to Grow. But What Are You Willing to Give and How Are You Willing to Live?

I have been spending time with an architecture firm whose owners brought me in as they want to grow their firm. But as I watched how they work and experienced their culture, I began to see what matters most to them: work-life balance, reflected in the harmony they seek in their designs, their client relationships and their own lives.

They live that commitment well. Principals start a little later and close their laptops a little earlier. In many other firms, principals put in the extra hours and sweat equity to build the people, practices, geographic reach and balance sheet that support growth. This ownership group has chosen a different pace and while that choice unites them, it also sets a speed limit.

They can still grow, though it will likely be slow and deliberate, with opportunities chosen carefully to fit the life they want and there is nothing wrong with that. The difficulty comes when their ambitions for growth assume a commitment they have not chosen to make together.

This experience has reinforced something I have come to believe: purpose sets the pace. A strategy has to work with what the owners value enough to practise every day.

So, the useful question is less “balance or growth?” and more “what is the growth for?” Is it to help fund the next generation’s ownership buy-in, remain relevant/competitive or create opportunities for emerging leaders? Or is it driven by a fear of standing still? Each answer points toward different choices about how much to grow, where to invest and what the owners are willing to give to make it happen.

For ownership groups, this deserves a proper conversation across generations. When you say you want to grow, do you mean the same thing, and are you clear about what it will ask of you?

A purpose you live together will always carry more weight than a plan you only state.