The Do Better Business™ Stages of Development
Our Strategic Process for Sustainable Growth
“You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.” – Maya Angelou
At Realign Consulting, we believe the best type of growth strategy focuses on sustainability first.
Hypergrowth and quarter-over-quarter profits might be the norm, but experience has taught us that sustainability should come before scale for most—especially for small businesses.
However, sustainable growth doesn’t happen by accident. It requires the right people working in aligned systems, with the courage and creativity to innovate when the path forward isn’t clear.
Transformation is possible, and the stages of business development are your roadmap. With a clear strategy, an experienced guide, and a team fully aligned around their strengths, the journey becomes as rewarding as the destination.
Sustainable business growth requires an alignment of three key areas: people, strategy, and intentional innovation.
When we talk about sustainability in business, we are specifically referring to a type of growth that evolves, changes, and blooms over time without burning people out.
Putting people first while growing your business means getting intentional about every corner of your company. That’s why the Do Better Business™ framework is built around five core pillars: Marketing/Sales, Distribution, Operations, Finances, and Leadership
- Sales/Marketing
- Distribution
- Operations
- Finance
- Leadership
And as the Do Better Business™ system is being taught, practiced, and habituated by everyone involved, we work together to implement The Alignment Trinity™ to fit the unique needs of your business. The Alignment Trinity™ are the three areas of every business that must be aligned to create resilient and sustainable success: its people, systems, and habits.
What makes these three areas so crucial to a company’s success?
- Business strategy doesn’t work without a firm grasp of how to align with people.
- Even aligned people will not succeed sustainably without solid business systems.
- Any long-term project boils down to what we do every day, so aligned habits are critical to the success of any individual or company.
Only when these three areas are aligned can we create community, impact, and, of course, profits all at the same time.
A powerful coaching experience, paired with a flexible strategic plan, can inspire, motivate, and foster an accountability paradigm for company leaders and their teams.
The Do Better Business™ Coaching Process, Post-Planning
The post-planning coaching experience is different for each of our clients. Every individual and the business they represent come to our work at different points in their journey. Each person’s journey will evolve according to many factors, including the level of openness, commitment, and willingness to change that they and their team bring to the space.
Therefore, we cannot guarantee any single set of results or experiences. Instead, our process aims to create an environment where long-term, sustainable courage and growth are not just possible but probable.
This allows you and your team to reflect on your own journeys, learn to communicate effectively, and peer-coach each other. Together, you will co-create the experience and, therefore, the results.
The Do Better Business™ framework and coaching process incorporate four stages of business development to create that initial alignment. Then, you will consistently work through realignment cycles to sustain your growth.
Stages of Starting: The First Alignment
As we begin a new journey, there is always critical planning and packing (or unpacking, as often happens in coaching) work to be done. At Realign Consulting, we think of this as a four-part process that is typically worked through in a two-day strategy retreat. Those stages are:
Stage 1:
Co-Create a Safer, Braver Environment to Grow Within
Here, we establish the foundation for working bravely together. This step is important for both building trust with your coach and building team trust when working with groups—especially groups with different power structures, such as leadership and production teams.
Group Development in Stage One: | Individual Development in Stage One: |
Learn how group dynamics are set and how they evolve | Deepen self-awareness of behaviors within a group |
Co-create boundaries, norms of behavior, and confidentiality agreements | Learn how to understand and ask for what you need to feel safe and be brave |
Learn about each other’s different styles and how they co-mingle with each other. | Assess your beliefs about other team members and how they are a reflection of yourself |
Agree on in and out-of-session boundaries | Practice adhering to the boundaries of others to create kinder working environments. |
Stage 2:
Release the Past & Get Clear On Current Realities
Coaching is not therapy, so we don’t spend significant time asking “why” about past traumas and behaviors.
However, we do look at what’s happened in the past through the lens of how it is affecting your ability to succeed in working within a group on sustainable growth strategies.
We make commitments here to leave the past in the past so that we may begin with a new starting point.
Once the past is processed and released, we work together using a combination of tools from social psychology and traditional business strategy to get clear about our current situation.
Group Development in Stage Two: | Individual Development in Stage Two: |
Learn the basics of peer-to-peer coaching | Learn to lead with questions instead of being the “answer person.” |
Learn how to request change effectively from each other. | Gain awareness of personal agency to manage both yourself and behaviors directed towards you |
Work through potential conflicts stemming from past friction points. | Begin to define and grow your capacity for healthy conflict and effective repair in relationships with others |
Learn how to assess and agree on the current state within a group with many different perspectives. | Practice finding your place within a group setting and navigating the paradox of conflicting realities. |
Stage 3:
Create A Vision for the Future
Now that the foundational elements of space setting, release, and starting point are firmly established, we can build a healthy and sustainable growth strategy for the future.
In this step, your coach will help you and your team find the beautiful alignment point of a mission-focused, values-driven growth plan.
Group Development in Stage Three | Individual Development in Stage Three |
Practice consistent support and show investment in each individual’s success | Practice resolving tension points between expectations and actual experiences |
Practice providing useful feedback and kind accountability. | Practice using coaching questions and follow-ups to give effective feedback and create trust with others |
Further evaluate group processes and ways of working together as needed. | Practice openness with appropriate states of vulnerability with your teammates and your coach |
Step out of group comfort zones and learn to break unhealthy group patterns as they arise. | Practice observing yourself as a leader and evaluating your performance and behaviors. |
Stage 4:
Agree on Ownership Roles & Accountabilities
At Realign Consulting, we work through these stages of business development at the beginning of a new executive leader, whenever beginning with a new facilitator, and annually during Strategic Planning Retreats.
Group Development in Stage Four | Individual Development in Stage Four |
Experience the give-and-trust of taking ownership and stepping back so others can lead. | Practice discerning where it is appropriate to step up and where you’re less effective and can give someone else the space to do so. |
Practice setting realistic goals and creating an accountability path for achieving them. | Practice speaking up for your boundaries and what you need to feel confident in stretching yourself to achieve a goal. |
Learn how to create agreements for benchmarking and realigning progress within a team. | Learn how to create agreements for benchmarking and realigning progress for yourself. |
At Realign Consulting, we work through these stages of business development at the beginning of a new group formation, whenever beginning with a new coach or facilitator, and annually during Strategic Planning Retreats.
Depending on the team’s experience, coachability, and cohesiveness, this process can take as long as three to six months or as little as a few hours.
Sustainable Cycles, Consistent Realignment
Once a client and/or a team moves through the Stages of Starting to align their new business development path, the growth process looks much more like a wheel. The ongoing cycle of growth can be reflected in four parts:
- Gain Perspective - By working on your plan with your team, everyone gains new insights and perspectives that inform adaptations, new cycles, and future opportunities.
- Reflect & Assess - During regular coaching sessions and team meetings, you’ll reflect on what’s been happening as you work through your plan and assess your current state in quick pulse checks daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly.
- Celebrate & Repair - Regularly stop for intentional space-holding sessions to celebrate wins with your team and coach. You’ll also continually learn how to make repairs that build trust and strengthen relationships over time.
- Recommit to Action - Recommit yourself or renegotiate your intentions at strategic points throughout the week and the year.
The Do Better Business™ Framework, whether used individually or within a group, is a powerful tool for helping us know better so we can do better over time.
The four stages of business development, paired with an ongoing cycle of realignment, create one of the most powerful systems for sustainable business growth your team can participate in.
NEXT STEPS
Is a Strategic Planning Retreat Right for Your Business?
Do Better Business™ is more than a framework. It’s a foundation for building something that lasts. If you’re ready to move from reacting to leading with intention, a two-day strategic planning retreat with Renia might be your next right step.
Book a fitting call to talk through where your business is and whether this is the right moment to go deep.
