𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.
"Feeding the pig" means focusing on activities that increase the company's future value. Not just improving visibility of current operations.
Here's the test. Ask any "Head of Growth" these questions:
1) What net new thing did you test this quarter that didn't exist before? If the answer is a dashboard, you didn't hire a leader. You hired someone to watch the scales.
2) What percentage of this person's time creates future revenue?
If most of their energy goes into:
reviewing
tracking
reporting
coordinating
inspecting
They are weighing.
If most of their energy goes into:
generating
testing
selling
learning
expanding
They are feeding.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻:
𝟭. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱
Most managers inherit pipeline and optimise it. Growth leaders create pipeline where none existed before.
Testing new ICPs
Opening new geographies
Launching outbound motions
Building partnerships
Creating content that generates inbound interest
Encouraging founder-led selling
Improving market visibility
The question becomes: "What are we doing this quarter that creates net new opportunity?" Not: "How accurately are we reporting existing opportunity?"
𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
Growth companies learn faster than competitors.
Experimentation velocity
Fast feedback loops
Rapid campaign testing
Message iteration
Customer conversations
Bad managers want certainty before action. Good leaders understand: action creates certainty.
𝟯. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Revenue problems are usually customer-distance problems.
More sales calls
More founder interactions
More interviews
More objections gathered
More buying signals analysed
Weak managers hide in dashboards. Strong leaders stay close to customers.
𝟰. 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Many organisations accidentally promote "pipeline librarians." People maintaining:
CRM hygiene
Attribution structures
Reporting workflows
Forecasting layers
Those things matter. But they should support pipeline creation, not replace it.
Leaders feeding the pig obsess over meetings booked, opportunities created, conversion improvements, velocity, deal progression, new market penetration.
𝟱. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Great businesses win distribution before they win efficiency.
Audience building
Partnerships
Outbound systems
Referral loops
Content reach
Community presence
Ecosystem positioning
A company with distribution can survive imperfect operations. A perfectly operated company with no distribution dies quietly.
𝟲. 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸
Stagnant companies punish failed experiments. Growth companies reward intelligent attempts.
Test new theories
Challenge assumptions
Try unconventional positioning
Launch before everything is perfect
Without this, teams optimise for safety instead of growth.
𝟳. 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀
Growth-minded leaders ask:
What slows sales down?
What blocks outbound?
Where do approvals kill momentum?
Where does process exceed value?
Their job becomes increasing commercial throughput. Not adding operational ceremony.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁
Operational managers optimise the present. Growth managers build the future.
One protects value. The other creates it.
Both matter. But most companies become overweight on:
Governance
Visibility
Process
Reporting
Internal management
And underweight on:
Experimentation
Outbound
Customer proximity
Demand creation
Execution velocity
Which is why many businesses become brilliantly managed, into stagnation.
Feed it or fire the manager currently paid to weigh it.
We built LeanGTM because most sales teams don't have a system for testing new growth strategies. They have a system for reporting on old ones.
It's a signal-driven GTM intelligence platform that helps teams iterate outbound faster, test new ICPs, and see what's actually working before they've burned a quarter finding out.
If your team is stuck weighing the pig, link in comments.
What's the worst "growth" job title you've seen attached to someone who's never launched a demand generation strategy in their life?
