How Mindset and Experimentation Drive Sustainable Growth
Discover how a growth mindset and experimentation can transform your organization and unlock sustainable business growth.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Cisco GSX, our global sales kickoff in Las Vegas. Being in the same space with 20,000 colleagues from around the world was a powerful reminder: in-person connection isn’t just energizing, it’s essential for organizations that want to grow and win. In today’s world of distributed teams and virtual meetings, these moments can rapidly reset a company’s ambition and sense of belonging.
This event also marked my one-month milestone at Cisco, where I now lead sales for Cisco ThousandEyes across Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China (APJC). Meeting my team face-to-face, celebrating recent milestones, and mapping out our ambitions for the next fiscal year was invigorating. Yet the moment that stood out most was at my very first All Hands, when I introduced the concept of growth hacking.
When Experimentation Ignites Growth
For many on my team, growth hacking was a new idea. But instead of hesitating, they leaned in, experimenting, sharing ideas, and surprising themselves with how quickly fresh energy and collaboration emerged. Just a week earlier, I’d told my CRO I wanted to try this workshop, but I wasn’t sure how it would land. As the result, positive feedback, bold ideas, and, most importantly, proof that the team is ready to embrace new approaches as we enter our next phase of growth.
That experience made me reflect on the true nature of growth, both for organizations and individuals. Growth isn’t linear. It moves in stages, and each stage asks something different of us as leaders and teams.
Growth Is a Series of Stages, not a Straight Line
If there’s one lesson that’s become clear throughout my career, it’s that growth, whether in a business, team, or personal journey, rarely happens in a predictable, linear fashion. Instead, it unfolds in distinct stages, each with its own challenges and requirements:
Formation: Building trust, setting direction, and aligning on vision.
Stabilization: Establishing clear processes, accountability, and consistency.
Acceleration: Scaling what works, driving efficiency, and maintaining agility.
Breakthrough/Transformation: Rethinking assumptions, innovating, and pursuing new opportunities.
The biggest risk is assuming that the strategies that worked in one stage will carry you through to the next. Growth stalls when yesterday’s solutions become today’s bottlenecks.
In our APJC business, we’re currently at the “Acceleration” stage. For us, this means identifying repeatable win scenarios, optimizing workflows, accelerating sales cycles, and scaling through a larger ecosystem. But operational moves alone aren’t enough, real acceleration is powered by mindset.
The Mindset Shift as the Real Growth Accelerator
Frameworks don’t create growth, mindsets do. As organizations evolve, leaders and teams need to make three key shifts:
From fixed mindset to growth mindset — seeing challenges as opportunities to learn.
From comfort to courage — willingness to try new approaches, even when failure is possible.
From individual focus to collective performance — recognizing that breakthroughs come from collaboration, not silos.
When my team embraced growth hacking, it wasn’t just about a new method. It was about changing how we think and work together. That’s the deeper unlock.
The Human Factor: Energy, Wellness & Performance
No strategy or framework will succeed unless people have the clarity and energy to bring it to life. High performance isn’t about pushing harder; it’s about managing energy wisely and creating an environment where teams can operate at their best.
This means fostering wellness practices, encouraging rest and reflection, and reminding everyone of the purpose behind their work. When people feel well, connected, and energized, they’re more willing to step outside their comfort zones, try bold ideas, and collaborate at a higher level. In short, they thrive, and so does the business.
Rethinking Leadership in the Growth Journey
Leadership today means being willing to unlearn as quickly as you learn. It’s about shifting from control to trust, and from knowing to discovering. The leaders and organizations that endure aren’t the ones with the best playbook, they’re the ones willing to rewrite the playbook, again and again.
Ask yourself:
When was the last time you challenged an assumption in your business?
How often do your teams run experiments with real outcomes, not just theoretical debates?
Are you building a culture where learning is more valuable than being “right”?
Practical Steps for Growth Leaders
For those navigating their own growth journeys, whether as executives, entrepreneurs, or team leads, here are a few actions that have proven valuable:
Assess your current stage honestly. Are you forming, stabilizing, accelerating, or transforming? Each demands different leadership approaches.
Challenge at least one core assumption. Instead of defaulting to “how we’ve always done it,” ask “what if we tried it differently?”
Run focused experiments. Pilot new approaches with clear metrics. Share results, whether they succeed or not.
Encourage cross-pollination. Invite feedback and ideas from teams or individuals outside your immediate area of expertise.
Prioritize team energy and well-being. Sustainable growth depends on people who are engaged and supported—not just stretched to their limits.
Final Thoughts
The path to growth is rarely smooth, but it’s always shaped by people, mindset, and the willingness to adapt. My own recent transition has reinforced how powerful it can be when teams, no matter their size or history, embrace experimentation, collaboration, and honest reflection.
If you’re leading through change or scaling your business, consider where you are in the growth journey and what needs to shift. The playbook that got you here may not be the one that gets you there.
Action to consider:
What stage is your business or team in today, and what’s one experiment you can try to unlock the next level of performance?
I look forward to hearing your own experiences and lessons as you navigate growth in your organizations.
If you found these insights valuable, please share this article with your network.
For more strategies on growth, leadership, and innovation, subscribe to my weekly letter, The Graceful Edge, where ambitious leaders gain a competitive advantage.