The Method — Build
Questions to ask yourself during build
Five questions to ask yourself during Build, starting with the hardest: what would have to be true for your current plan to be wrong?
7 min read · Reviewed by both partners
These are diagnostic, not rhetorical. Answer them in writing and the phase largely runs itself.
Build exists to produce one working change, measured against the baseline. Each question below moves you toward it.
Step by step
What would have to be true for me to be wrong?
The single most useful question in the phase, and the one owners skip because it is uncomfortable.
Which number would change my mind?
If no number would, the belief is not a conclusion and this phase cannot test it.
What am I measuring because it is easy?
Convenient metrics crowd out decisive ones and they look identical on a report.
Who disagrees, and have I actually heard them out?
Someone in the business usually knows. They are rarely in the meeting.
Is one working change, measured against the baseline written down?
If not, the phase is unfinished regardless of how much thinking has happened.
Common mistakes
Answering them out loud and moving on
Spoken answers feel complete and vanish. Written ones can be checked next quarter.
Asking them after the decision
Used retrospectively these become justification. Used first they are a diagnostic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions to ask yourself during build?
These are diagnostic, not rhetorical. Answer them in writing and the phase largely runs itself.
How does Growth-Scaling apply this in a real engagement?
It sits under The Build Phase in the Growth Scaling Method. The next step for an owner is the $1,500 Assessment, which reads your own numbers against everything described above.
How much should we budget?
Budget $4,500 to find out what to build. Budget from $5,000 a month only if the Plan says a recurring engine is warranted — sometimes it says the opposite.
Who delivers the work?
Both founding partners, every time — strategy from David Mitroff, Ph.D., systems and measurement from Steven Lockhart.
References
- www.dol.gov — primary source
- www.irs.gov — primary source
- www.data.gov — primary source
Answer these with someone outside the business
That is most of what the Assessment is: two hours of exactly these questions, asked properly.
Growth-Scaling is a marketing and business-scaling firm. It is not a licensed practitioner in any client vertical and does not provide medical, legal, financial, or contracting services; all industry content on this site is marketing and growth guidance for owners in those fields. Figures describing past engagements refer to specific businesses under specific conditions and are not a prediction of any future result. No outcome is promised.
Written by Steven Lockhart, reviewed by David Mitroff, Ph.D. Figures and regulatory details reflect the cited public sources; requirements vary by state and situation. Growth-Scaling is a marketing and business-scaling firm, not a licensed practitioner in any client vertical.