Pick A Lane: Why Dual Strategies Sink Growing Companies

When accounting software first came out, it was supposed to make business life easier. No more paper ledgers, no more endless manual reconciliations. Just clean data and instant reporting.

But many companies didn’t trust the new system. They kept the paper ledgers “for now,” just until they were sure the software worked.

You can guess what happened next.

Now they had two accounting departments: one running the paper system and one using the software. When the numbers didn’t match – which they rarely did – a third group was created to find the discrepancies.

Someone eventually looked around and said, “This was supposed to make us more efficient, but now we’ve tripled our workload. Clearly, this new system doesn’t work.”

Except it did. The software wasn’t the problem. The problem was the lack of commitment. They never turned the old system off.

The Business Equivalent: Running Two Strategies at Once

Canadian companies make the same mistake every day – not with accounting software, but with strategy.

They commit to a new direction, a sharper focus, or a more disciplined go-to-market model…but they don’t stop doing what they used to do. They say:

• “We’re moving from custom projects to scalable products,” while still taking every custom order that comes in.
• “We’re going after one vertical market,” while still quoting every opportunity that crosses their desk.
• “We’re simplifying our sales channels,” while still selling direct, through distributors, and on Amazon “just in case.”

That’s not strategy. That’s hedging. And hedging kills focus – the very thing smaller businesses depend on most.

The Cost of Hedging

According to research from the Growth Institute, one of the biggest reasons companies struggle to scale is that they “try too many things at the same time.”

“You’re deliberately choosing what to do, but equally important what not to do,” the Institute writes. “When leaders try to execute multiple strategies concurrently, they dilute resources, confuse teams, and slow execution.” In a $25- to $50-million company, the consequences are immediate and painful because resources are finite:

• Leadership time gets split managing both models.
• Capital is spread too thin to build scale in either.
• People lose clarity on priorities and make decisions based on what they think leadership wants.

Running two strategies is like trying to drive with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. The business lurches forward, burns fuel, and wears out the engine but never really gets anywhere.

Why Smaller Companies Feel It Most

Large corporations can afford a few false starts. They have capital, market share, and staff to experiment.

A $25 million business does not.

Smaller firms win through focus. They out-serve, out-specialize, and out-adapt their larger competitors. When they try to be everything to everyone, they lose the very edge that made them successful in the first place.

Think back to the accounting analogy. A big enterprise can afford to run parallel systems for a while. A smaller one can’t. The overhead alone could sink them.

The same goes for strategy.

If you’re running two business models – say, one custom and one standardized – you’ve doubled your complexity, not your revenue.

Signs You’re Running Dual Strategies

You might not label it that way, but if any of these sound familiar, your company is running two strategies at once:

1. You say you’ve “moved upmarket,” but you still chase every RFP. The new strategy says, “focus on the right clients,” but the sales team is still rewarded for volume.
2. You launched a new service model but kept the old pricing scheme. You’re trying to sell value but still discounting to win deals. That’s two competing economic models.
3. You changed your structure but not your habits. New org chart, same meetings, same metrics, same decisions.
4. You’re “phasing in” the new model indefinitely. The plan was a twelve-month transition. It’s been thirty. That isn’t transition. That’s avoidance.

Why Leaders Do It

Most leaders don’t plan to run two strategies. They slide into it gradually.

They believe they’re managing risk. “Let’s keep the old business going while we build the new one. If the new thing doesn’t work, at least we still have our base.”

It sounds sensible, but it’s a trap.

While you’re trying to de-risk the transition, you’re guaranteeing failure. Neither model gets enough attention to succeed. The team spends half its time reconciling conflicting priorities instead of executing either one well.

Soon, results seem to prove the new strategy isn’t working. So, you revert to the old one: the very approach you were trying to move away from.

That’s how hedging becomes habit.

The Leadership Imperative: Turn the Old System Off

The companies that grow through transition don’t hedge. They commit. They pick a lane and make the new system unavoidable. It isn’t reckless. It’s disciplined.

When accounting software was introduced, the efficiency gains didn’t come from running both systems. They came when the paper ledgers were retired. Only then could businesses see the time savings, accuracy, and visibility they were promised.

Your strategy works the same way. You won’t see the benefits of focus until the old system is gone.

How to Commit to One Strategy

1. Name What’s Ending

Every new strategy begins with a clear ending. Say it aloud:

• “We are no longer chasing every project.”
• “We are no longer selling to anyone who asks.”
• “We are discontinuing our low-margin line.”

It feels uncomfortable, like turning away opportunity, but what you’re really turning away is distraction.

2. Align Incentives

If your strategy is to focus on profitable niches, stop rewarding people for volume. People do what you pay them to do. If compensation and KPIs don’t line up with the new direction, the old habits will always win.

3. Simplify Your Systems

If the old forms, reports, or approval steps exist, people will use them. Retire outdated processes. Complexity is the enemy of focus.

4. Communicate Until It Feels Repetitive

Most leaders underestimate how often they need to reinforce the message. Say it in meetings, reviews, newsletters, and hallway conversations. When you’re tired of hearing yourself say it, that’s when your team is finally starting to believe it.

5. Measure Adoption, Not Perfection

Don’t expect flawless results immediately. Early wins come from people using the new system. The performance payoff comes later.

A Cautionary Tale: The “Everything Store” Syndrome

A few years ago, we worked with a $20 million engineering firm that decided to “diversify its risk” by expanding into new regions. Business at home was solid, but leadership worried about being too dependent on one market. Opening offices elsewhere seemed like the logical next step.

Plus, a couple of long-standing employees were eager to relocate. It seemed like a no-brainer.

The employees moved. The company leased office space, handled all the legal and regulatory requirements, secured professional qualifications in the new jurisdictions, refreshed the website, updated marketing materials, and started chasing projects wherever opportunities appeared.

The idea was to spread risk. In reality, they spread themselves thin.

Each region needed its own business development effort, technical staff, and operational oversight. The firm’s best people were constantly on planes, mentoring new teams, and troubleshooting. Meanwhile, their core market – the one that had fuelled their growth – began to feel neglected. Margins tightened and projects in new regions took far longer to ramp up than expected.

Two years later, the leadership team came to a difficult conclusion: “We didn’t diversify our risk. We multiplied it.”

When they refocused on their strongest geography and deepened relationships there, profitability rebounded within months. The issue wasn’t the new markets. They hadn’t chosen a strategy; they were running two.

Why Focus Feels Risky

For founder-led and privately held businesses, focus can feel dangerous. Every dollar counts. Saying “no” to a sale or market feels like leaving money on the table. But spreading yourself too thin leaves far more money behind.

Your clients, staff, and partners can sense when you’re hedging. It shows up in mixed messages:

• A brand that claims to specialize but acts like a generalist.
• A sales team that talks about strategic value but discounts like a commodity player.
• A leadership team that says “long-term focus” but chases short-term wins.

Clarity creates confidence. Confusion creates hesitation. And hesitation is expensive.

The Bellrock Perspective: Clarity Multiplies

In our work, we’ve seen this play out many times. Companies that commit to one clear strategy outperform those that hedge. Focus multiplies effort. When everyone knows exactly what matters, decisions get faster, alignment strengthens, and momentum builds.

Running two strategies cancels that out. It splits energy in half and doubles the noise.

If your business feels busy but not productive, you may not have a capacity problem. You may have a focus problem.

The Takeaway

If the strategy is sound, the closer your organisation can stick to it, the more successful you’ll be.

The real issues arise when you try to live in two worlds, the old and the new, at the same time.

It’s like keeping the paper ledgers running while you implement accounting software. You end up with more people, more confusion, and worse results.

Smaller mid-market businesses can’t afford that waste. They win through focus, clarity, and commitment.

Pick a lane. Turn off the old system. Trust the new one to do its job.

What looks like inefficiency is often just indecision. Once you shut down the old way, real performance begins.

Bottom Line

A sound strategy doesn’t fail because it’s flawed. It fails because the organization never fully committed.

If you’re serious about growth, don’t add a new strategy on top of the old one. Replace it.

That’s how small companies scale and how great ones stay remarkable.