How I Stopped Over-Complicating Growth.

I’m not going to lie, deep down, I used to be more addicted to reinvention than managing the day-to-day.

On some days, I’m still fighting off distractions about new products, new platforms, and new ideas that fight to pull me away from doing the things that are already working.

But here’s the hard truth: the best companies don’t innovate constantly.

They optimise relentlessly.

They follow the real 70/20/10 rule:

70% of effort goes into what’s already working — your proven offers, best customers, top-performing channels.

20% goes to adjacent plays — small twists on the 70% (e.g., bundling, repackaging, new segments).

10% goes to testing bold new things — unproven bets, long shots, market-changing ideas.

But what do most teams do (including me)?

They do it backwards…

They waste 70% on distractions and new ideas, 20% on fixing what's broken, and 10% (if that) on doubling down on what’s actually working.

And then they wonder why growth feels like pushing a giant square boulder up a gigantic hill.

If your business feels stuck or chaotic, it’s probably not your product.

Or your lack of effort.

It’s often your allocation of focus as a team or individual

(At least that’s what I’ve learned about myself and my own business over the years.)

I’m telling you, you rarely need more ideas.

You just need more discipline around what’s already working.

And then it’s about forcing yourself to do WAAAAAAY more of it.

Doubling down on the boring things that are generating most of the positive results.

I know it’s not sexy. And it’s hard to leap out of bed for it.

But it’s the kind of thing that if you do it well for a while, you’ll be able to spend as long as you want in bed (because your business will be so successful).

When I started looking at my business using the 70/20/10 lens, I found a few things:

A few profitable products we sold lots of.
A handful of processes that got us the biggest results.
And a small group of like-minded clients who purchased way more than others.
The problem was, we weren’t really focused on any of them - it was happening despite our focus.

So we leaned into them and made sure we gave them the attention they deserved.

I’d be lying if I said it’s been overwhelmingly enjoyable to repeatedly do the boring things that actually work, but I can’t tell you how enjoyable it is to finally have a business that works instead of always pushing boulders up hills.

So, today’s a nudge, not a lecture.

To look at your business through the 70/20/10 rule and optimise your focus in line with it.

Make 70% of your marketing copy look the same as the ones that worked previously, run versions of those the other 20% of the time, and then test new crazy things with the remaining 10%.

Optimise for the most profitable or highest selling products 70% of the time, bundle or slightly vary them 20% of the time, and leave only 10% for building new things.

Look at what parts of your customer experience give you the best reviews and then pour most of your energy into delivering on that more often, then test new things 10% of the time.

It’s not rocket science.

But the 70/20/10 framework is a neat way to operate and hold yourself accountable.

And often it’s simple things like this that give you the greatest results.

Have a great week.