What Drives SME Growth? Introducing the Leader’s Growth Mindset

This report captures the main findings of an 18-month study on the growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Alberta, Canada. The central question that this inquiry sought to answer was: what are the factors that drive SME growth? The study involved a large survey of SMEs and a set of in-depth interviews with the leaders of ‘High Impact SMEs’. High Impact SMEs are organizations that are achieving high growth (in revenue, profits and employment) and also disruptive, investing in a broader range of innovative activities and diversifying the markets they serve. They exemplify organizations that many of us aspire to create. We present a new model – The Leaders Growth Mindset™ – to explain how leaders of High Impact SMEs operate. We report on the common set of practices these leaders apply and that we can each develop in our everyday work.