Steve Jobs famously stated, "I am convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."

Jobs' timeless quote underpins a hard truth:

Not every year is a growth year. Some years are character years.

Growth Hides in the Grind

Every Founder / CEO chases the hockey stick. But before the curve, there is the slog. The rework. The confrontation. The painful clarity.

A company is not built in quarters—it is forged in character.

If this year felt like pushing a boulder uphill, ask yourself:

• Did we get clearer on who owns what?

• Did we finally start meeting like pros instead of flailing through the week?

• Did we unify around a single mission-critical goal?

• Did we adopt powerful business-accelerating frameworks like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Rockefeller Habits, and Gapology?

If the answer is yes, then congratulations. You did not just survive—you matured.

Discipline Is the Scalpel of Growth

One of the hardest truths: scaling requires subtraction before addition. Subtract ambiguity. Subtract noise. Subtract "optional" accountability.

As goes the leader, so goes the team.

Most CEOs do not lack intelligence, ambition, or drive. They lack visibility—into themselves.

If you want a team that performs at a high level, then you must model relentless clarity and operational rigor. Character-building years expose what you tolerate. Do not ignore it—name it, own it, and fix it.

High-performing teams are thoughtfully designed and built through discipline, people, strategy, and execution.

Building Character vs. Reinventing the Wheel

While building character is noble and necessary, let us be clear: choosing to reinvent the wheel is not. There is no virtue in making it harder than it has to be. Countless frameworks, rhythms, and operating systems already exist to help companies scale. Use them.

Wisdom is learning from others. Arrogance is insisting you are the exception.

Founders who embrace proven systems—like the Rockefeller Habits—accelerate clarity, accountability, and alignment without burning out. Do not confuse struggle with strategy. Character is built in facing adversity, not in ignoring solutions.

If you are straining to grow revenue or profitability without improving how your team does the work—without improving your leadership—without improving your operations—that is not character building. That is pounding your head against the wall. That is futility. Do not reinvent wheels. Some of the best minds, past and present, have developed incredible frameworks. Get adopting.

Gapology identifies and addresses the gaps that prevent organizations from executing at the highest level.

Aphorisms for the Builder

I appreciate aphorisms. Let us call these what aphorisms are: timeless truths of leadership. Here are a couple you may wish to use as your rally cry. 

• What gets measured gets managed. If you are not tracking progress publicly and weekly, then you are running on hope, not data.

• A lack of accountability at the top breeds chaos at the bottom. Every core process and KPI must have a name—not a team—a name next to it.

• The culture of a company is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate. Raise the bar and the team will rise.

• Clear is kind. Vague is cruel. Be specific in expectations, feedback, and outcomes.

• Do not waste energy inventing tools—spend it mastering them. Adopt best-of-breed frameworks, adapt, and advance.

Your Five Next Moves

If this has been not a winning year, then make damn sure it is a building year. Here is how to cement the progress:

1. Reinforce your operating cadence. Establish weekly rhythms that surface issues, reinforce priorities, and build team muscle.

2. Anchor around a Critical Number. Define the one metric that matters this quarter and build everything around it.

3. Celebrate discipline. Do not just celebrate outcomes—celebrate adherence to process. That is where character lives.

4. Own the unsexy work. Documentation, ownership, accountability—this is what builds a company that scales.

5. Leverage existing best-of-breed frameworks. Rockefeller Habits, The Five Dysfunctions of a. Team, and Scaling Up—pick one and commit.

The Rockefeller Habits provide a structured approach to scaling your business effectively.

The best is yet to come. 

Some years you win. Some years you build the strength to win bigger later.

That strength—operational, emotional, strategic—is not born in highlight reels. It is born in the trenches, under pressure, where your real leadership is tested.

Persevere. Refine. Build.

That is how character turns into legacy.

Your next read... The Mental Models Every Founder / CEO Must Master to Scale with Discipline

Are You Ready to Scale with Intention?

Most Founder/CEOs start with a vision. Few align the right people, processes, and priorities to achieve it. At The Rainmaker Group, we help growth-minded leaders build high-performance teams, instill radical accountability, and scale with precision.

If you are serious about unlocking your company’s potential—
Start by unlocking your own.

Must-Reads for the Growth-Minded Founder/CEO:

• The Mental Models Every Founder/CEO Must Master to Scale with Discipline

• Founder Mode: The Entrepreneurial Mindset That Separates Visionaries from Mediocrity

• You Are the Bottleneck: Why Critical Self-Awareness Is the CEO’s Most Underrated Performance Tool

• Team Building Is A Leadership System – Not a Retreat

• Mastering the 'First Team' Principle: An Essential Guide for Leaders Serious About Scaling Their Business

👉 Schedule a Strategy Conversation
👉 Explore More Leadership and Hiring Insights on the Blog
👉 Follow Chris on LinkedIn for more frameworks and thought leadership

You do not need to figure it out alone.
But you do need to take the first step.

Build the Flywheel. Or keep babysitting. Your choice.

Chris Young is a Trusted Advisor To Founders / CEOs | Certified Scaling Up Coach | Builder of People, Leaders, Teams & Economic Moats | Strategist and proud founder of The Rainmaker Group.