Why 10X Growth Might Be Stalling Your Business

22 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, the presenter argues that aiming for a 10x growth target fundamentally reshapes a founder’s mindset, unlike the incremental 10% growth approach that often leads to a trap of small‑scale tactics. He references Astro’s 2013 Wired article and a book titled “10x Is Easier Than 2x,” highlighting how a 10% goal encourages many modest, hour‑adding strategies, whereas a 10x goal forces a re‑examination of the business model, leveraging larger levers. Using a concrete example of a founder with $1 million in annual sales, the speaker shows that reaching $1.1 million can be achieved by simply adding calls, but reaching $10 million requires a radical shift in strategy. He ties this to Jim Collins’s BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) concept, suggesting that setting such a massive personal or company goal acts as a “secret sauce” that unlocks new thinking and leverage.

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What did you say the book name was again? 10x Is Easier Than 2x. So most certainly that book was influenced by Astro's actual article. In 2013, he wrote an article for Wired.com. What he talks about in the article is how when you go for 10% growth, you know, in my own words, you get trapped in like incrementalism because there's so many different ways you can grow 10%. But if you go for 10x, it fundamentally changes the way you think. Quick example, let's say you or I are coaching a founder. And to keep the example simple, let's say that she has Sales of $1 million a year. And how do you get your sales? And she says, oh, well, I just make phone calls. Okay, founder-led sales. Great. Your goal is to get to $1.1 million next year. How are you going to do it? And she goes, okay, well, I'll just add an extra hour to the day. I'll make more calls. And she could probably come up with like 20 other ways to do it as well, right? It's only an extra $100K. But if instead we said, no, no, no, you have to get to $10 million next year, then her brain breaks because now there's not enough hours in the day. The existing model doesn't work. And she has to think, you know, much, much bigger. You know, it thinks in terms of leverage and all of that. Going for that big goal, or like, as you said, Jim Collins language, that BHAG, that personal BHAG, it just changes everything. And that, that literally, I think, is the secret sauce.