Driving growth in a large organisation is rarely straightforward. As businesses scale, so does the complexity: more stakeholders, systems, data, priorities and established ways of working.

Speaking about her experience leading growth and change, Wendy Dixon, Business Development Director at Mishcon de Reya, shared three pieces of advice she continues to come back to.

1. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” 

The first piece of advice came from the well-known Peter Drucker quote. A strong strategy will only get you so far if you don’t bring people with you. Meaningful change requires behaviour change, which means getting people “in the boat” and pulling in the same direction.

2. Embrace “brutal simplicity of thought.” 

Wendy’s second piece of advice came from Maurice Saatchi and the founding philosophy behind M+C Saatchi: brutal simplicity of thought. Wendy highlighted how easy it is to add complexity and how difficult, but valuable, it is to simplify. Simple ideas are understood faster and remembered for longer. When faced with a complicated growth challenge, being able to distil it into something clear, memorable and actionable can be incredibly powerful.

3. Remember: “Not my circus, not my monkey.”

Wendy’s final piece of advice came from a former leader she worked with while managing complex global client relationships. When coordinating global, regional and local teams, responsibilities can quickly become blurred. Conversations overlap, ownership becomes unclear and people can find themselves pulled into problems that are not theirs to solve.

A leader she worked with kept a framed poster in their office that read: “Not my circus, not my monkey.” For Wendy, it became a useful reminder of the importance of clear boundaries. Successful growth does not mean trying to own every problem. It means being clear about responsibilities, understanding where you can make an impact and ensuring the right people are accountable for the right things.

Keeping growth simple

What stood out about Wendy’s advice is that none of it requires a more sophisticated growth strategy. Instead, it’s about making growth achievable when organisations become complicated.

Get the culture right. Simplify wherever possible. And be clear about who owns what.

Three simple principles that become increasingly important as businesses, teams and ambitions grow.