It was a year when the entire sector was struggling. Competitors were posting marginal or even negative growth.
The mounting pressures and the impossible ask were compounded by senior-level churn with two senior leaders who had been with us for a decade — the VP of Retail resigned much before launch, the Head of Merchandising exited within a quarter, and the Marketing Head was on maternity leave during planning.
In our planning meeting, the ask on the table was not just growth but 50% like-to-like growth, including mature stores with a history of over ten years.
The room went silent. Eyes shifted. Arms folded. The disbelief was palpable.
Then the pushback started:
❌ “Impossible.”
❌ “Outrageous ask.”
The resistance was so strong that we spent two full days locked in debate, going in circles, making little progress. Some argued endlessly. Others quietly gave up before we had even begun.
I realized if we were to succeed, there were two challenges I needed to overcome:
1️⃣ Changing Mindsets — Asking the team to attempt something they already believed was impossible.
2️⃣ Strategy or Plan — Figuring out how to actually get it done.
So I shifted the frame.
Instead of “Why it can’t be done,” I asked:
👉 “If there were no constraints, what could we do?”
Slowly, the energy in the room began to shift. Barriers dissolved, defenses broke, and ideas started flowing.
I still recall the national meet — the entire team, Board, and Advisory Board putting our signatures & credibility on the line to back the plan. Committed, but a little nervous.
📈 Three, six, nine months later — not only had we achieved the impossible but achieved a phenomenal 60% + growth.
The numbers told one story. But the bigger story was the shift in belief: we had transformed not only the business, but also the way we saw ourselves — individually in what we could do, and collectively as a team.
I’ve seen this same dynamic play out countless times across teams and founders I work with. Whenever we push for exponential growth, the discussion almost always hits the same wall: “It can’t be done.” And in most cases, extraordinary market spends seem to be the default answer.