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It was the call a Deloitte Strategy Consultant never wants...
The CEO was sharp, well-funded, and three months into a growth push. But something wasn’t right. Deals were stalling. CAC was climbing. The board wanted answers. When I asked how they were tracking market shifts, he paused—and then admitted:
“We haven’t really built that muscle. We’ve been heads-down on execution.”
He’s not alone.
According to PwC, 76% of CEOs believe their current business model won’t be viable in 10 years without evolution (PwC, 2024).
Yet only 22% of companies feel highly responsive to market shifts (Gartner, 2023).
In other words—leaders know they need to adapt, but most haven’t built the system to do it. That gap is where companies stall.
And that’s exactly why this week’s focus matters.
From Noise to Navigation: The “Sense – Think – Act” Model
If you want your company to scale through uncertainty—not stall in it—then market shift responsiveness must become a core capability, not a one-off exercise.
Adapted from McKinsey’s organizational agility research, this 3-part model creates strategic responsiveness by design—not accident.
1. SENSE
Develop structured mechanisms to continuously scan, monitor, and interpret early signals from the market.
This includes:
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Regular customer feedback loops
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Competitor tracking
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Industry indicator monitoring
Don’t just listen to the market—build systems that force you to.
2. THINK
Align leadership teams around the strategic implications of those signals.
Use structured scenario planning to anticipate how potential futures could impact your business model, pricing, or product-market fit.
You don’t need a crystal ball—you need a range of pre-modeled possibilities.
3. ACT
Build optionality into strategic decisions and empower your teams to move.
This is where playbooks, flexible GTM strategies, and clear delegation matter. It’s not enough to know—you have to respond fast.
In a volatile market, speed beats certainty every time.
Reference: McKinsey’s “Organizing for the Future”
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
“We missed the shift—how do we catch up?”
A partner-led professional services firm came to me after realizing their client pipeline had quietly dried up. Referrals were flat. LinkedIn traffic was down. Their messaging hadn’t changed in two years.
We applied the Sense – Think – Act model:
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Sense: We mapped where decision-makers were now sourcing information (spoiler: it wasn’t where they were advertising).
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Think: We ran a strategic war room, tested 3 plausible market evolutions, and identified the most urgent pivot: move upstream to serve budget-holding buyers, not technical gatekeepers.
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Act: We revamped offers, overhauled outreach, and armed their team with an agile GTM script.
Result? Pipeline velocity doubled in 60 days. Not because we worked harder—but because we responded smarter.
REAL STRATEGIES. REAL RESULTS.
Understanding market shifts isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about building the muscles to adapt before disruption hits. Your growth strategy can’t afford to be a static document. It has to flex with the market—and fast.
Here’s how you build that responsiveness:
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Sense: Systematize how you collect insights
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Think: Turn insights into strategic scenarios
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Act: Enable fast, empowered execution
If your growth feels stuck, this is often why.
Let’s fix that!
Sam Palazzolo
Real Strategies. Real Results.
PS – Here’s how I can help right here/right now:
1 – Catalyst Audit – Identify if your growth plan is globally ready (and where it’s likely to break)→ 5 questions/3 minutes: https://www.sampalazzolo.com/assessments/2148521795
2 – Catalyst Board – Join an elite peer group navigating similar international scaling challenges→ Email me at [email protected] to find out more
3 – Catalyst Strategy Session – A strategic focused 1:1 engagement to get your growth plan tactical and actionable→ https://calendly.com/spalazzolo/60-minute-strategic-catalyst-session-with-sam-palazzolo
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