“Growth is stuck” is not a diagnosis. It may describe weak demand, false pipeline, delivery capacity, unclear ownership, cash pressure or slow decisions. Solving the wrong layer adds activity without releasing the constraint.
Shikha’s diagnostic sequence
- Define the stalled outcome: name the number, customer promise or operating result.
- Locate the break: identify where work waits, returns, leaks or escalates.
- Separate cause from symptom: ask why three times and demand evidence.
- Choose the narrowest constraint: one that, if improved, would release meaningful capacity.
- Run a measured test: do not redesign the whole company first.
Diagnostic questions
- What changed before the result weakened?
- Is the gap demand, conversion, capacity, quality, cash or decision speed?
- Where do teams compensate with follow-ups and workarounds?
- What evidence would disprove the current explanation?
Founder Action
Take one recurring symptom and create a one-page constraint map: desired outcome → current evidence → point of failure → likely cause → two-week test → measure → owner.
Practical takeaway: the constraint brief
Complete: “We expected ___, observed ___, and found work breaks at ___. We believe the cause is ___. For two weeks, ___ owns a test of ___. We will review ___ on ___.”