“Ladies and gentlemen of the board,

 

As CEO of our company, I want to address the pressing issue of our stagnant growth, and I believe we can draw inspiration from the wisdom of C.S. Lewis: "You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."

 

For too long, we’ve been looking back, analyzing past decisions, and dwelling on the initial strategies that led us to this plateau. While understanding our history is important, it’s clear we can’t rewrite it. Instead, we need to focus on our current position and take decisive action to reshape our future.

 

Our market position, resources, and team are our starting point today. We have the talent, the technology, and the customer base to pivot and drive growth, but we must act boldly. Here’s how we can start where we are and change the ending:

 

1. Innovate from Our Current Strengths: We can’t undo the product launches or marketing campaigns that didn’t meet expectations, but we can build on what’s working. Let’s conduct a thorough analysis of our most successful products and customer segments, then invest heavily in innovation that scales those strengths. For example, if our data shows a particular service line is outperforming others, let’s double down with R&D and marketing to expand its reach.

 

2. Reassess Our Strategy with Fresh Eyes: Stagnation often stems from complacency or outdated assumptions. We need to bring in external perspectives—consultants, industry experts, even customers—to challenge our current strategies. Where are we missing opportunities? Are we over-investing in declining markets while under-serving emerging ones? Let’s start where we are, with the data and insights we have, and chart a new course.

 

3. Empower Our Team to Lead Change: Our employees are on the front lines, and they know where the bottlenecks are. We can’t change the organizational culture of the past, but we can foster a forward-thinking environment now. I propose we launch a company-wide initiative to solicit ideas for growth, offering incentives for innovative proposals. Let’s start where we are—motivated, capable people—and harness their energy to drive us forward.

 

4. Invest in Agility: The market isn’t waiting for us to catch up. We need to streamline decision-making, reduce bureaucratic delays, and adopt a more agile approach to product development and customer engagement. If we start where we are—acknowledging our current inefficiencies—we can implement lean processes to outpace competitors and capture new growth opportunities.

 

We can’t go back and change the beginning—whether it was missed opportunities, economic downturns, or internal missteps that contributed to our stagnation. But we can absolutely start where we are today, on February 24, 2025, and take bold, strategic actions to change our ending. I’m confident that with a unified vision and decisive leadership, we can break through this plateau and achieve sustainable growth.

 

To accelerate this journey, I’m excited to announce that M. Allen will partner with us to unlock our business’s growth potential. M. Allen brings expertise in aligning sales and marketing efforts, tackling ineffective lead generation, and addressing the increasing sales cycles we’ve faced—challenges that have contributed to our stagnation. Specifically, M. Allen will:

 

- Conduct a deep dive into our sales pipeline to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, ensuring we convert leads more effectively.

- Develop a tailored strategy to synchronize our sales and marketing teams, leveraging proven methods to target high-growth opportunities.

- Provide actionable insights to refine our approach to customer acquisition, helping us displace established competitors and capture new market share.

 

With M. Allen’s guidance, we’ll gain the momentum needed to transform our current position into a story of success.

 

I’d like to open the floor for discussion on specific initiatives and how we can prioritize our next steps. Together, we’ll write a new chapter for this company.

 

Thank you.”

 

- Taken from a client memorandum