Four levers. Sixteen drivers. One business worth owning.
Every business I've run or worked with comes down to the same four things. Get them working together and the business gets easier to run, more profitable and worth more. Leave one behind and it holds everything else back.
The Elephant Growth Formula is a business operating system for owner-led businesses under $5M. It scores 16 drivers across four levers, Leadership × (Commercials × Operations × Financials), so you can see the one constraint holding the rest back and fix that first.
By Shehan Wijayasinghe, Managing Director · Founder, est. 2016The formula
Leadership × (Commercials × Operations × Financials) = Business Value, and business value is what builds your wealth.
Why multiply, not add?
Because a weak lever doesn't just score low. It drags the others down with it. Great sales can't save a business that runs out of cash, and great systems can't save an owner with no time.
Same business, double the result
Scores out of 10:
L 3 × (9 × 8 × 8) = 1,728
L 6 × (9 × 8 × 8) = 3,456
Lift the weakest lever and everything else gets more valuable. That's why leadership sits outside the brackets, and why every Reset starts with you.
L1–L4 · Lever 1 of 4
Leadership
How much of you is left for leading the business, after the day-to-day has taken what it needs.
When it's weak, it feels like: You're the bottleneck. Nothing moves unless you touch it, and you're running on empty.
L1
Goal Definition & Alignment
A clear 12-month goal you and your partner both believe in.
Typical Reset project: 12-month goal on one page
L2
Capacity Redesign
Your week rebuilt around the work only you can do.
Typical Reset project: Delegation plan
L3
Org Redesign & Board Build
Clear roles, so decisions stop defaulting to you.
Typical Reset project: Org chart for today and in 12 months
L4
Performance Management
Five to seven numbers that tell you how the week went.
Typical Reset project: Weekly scorecard of 5–7 numbers
C1–C4 · Lever 2 of 4
Commercials
How the right clients find you, say yes, and stick around.
When it's weak, it feels like: Feast or famine. Most work comes from referrals you can't control.
C1
Positioning & Market
Known for one thing, by one kind of client, priced on value.
Typical Reset project: Ideal client profile and value pricing
C2
Sales System
A simple path from first chat to signed that doesn't need you.
Typical Reset project: Sales process map
C3
Lead Amplification
Enquiries and referrals that keep coming in a quiet month.
Typical Reset project: Referral system
C4
Client Success & Retention
Clients who stay longer, spend more and send friends.
Typical Reset project: Client journey and check-ins
O1–O4 · Lever 3 of 4
Operations
How the work gets done, week in, week out, without you in every detail.
When it's weak, it feels like: Same mistakes, same questions, same fires. Delegating feels slower than doing it yourself.
O1
Head Office Rhythm
One weekly meeting and one place for priorities and numbers.
Typical Reset project: Head Office and weekly meeting
O2
Team & People
The right people in the right seats, who know what good looks like.
Typical Reset project: Role scorecards
O3
Systemised Delivery & Process
Written-down ways of working, so quality isn't luck.
Typical Reset project: First five SOPs
O4
Technology & AI
Tools that take admin off your plate instead of adding to it.
Typical Reset project: Automation and AI audit
F1–F4 · Lever 4 of 4
Financials
Whether the business makes good money, keeps it, and builds something worth owning.
When it's weak, it feels like: Revenue is up, but the bank account doesn't feel it, and you're not sure why.
F1
Margin & Pricing
Charging what you're worth and knowing which work pays.
Typical Reset project: Margin by service line
F2
Cash & Capital
Knowing what's coming in and going out, weeks ahead.
Typical Reset project: 13-week cash forecast
F3
Revenue Expansion
Growing from the clients and services you already have.
Typical Reset project: Recurring revenue offer
F4
Business Value & Wealth
A business that pays you and is worth something if you step back.
Typical Reset project: Business valuation snapshot
Sixteen drivers. One shape.
Your scorecard turns your answers into this spider diagram. The dents show you where to start. These are illustrative scores for a typical owner before the Reset.
Find the constraint, fix it, then move to the next.
You don't work on all sixteen drivers at once. The formula multiplies, so the weakest lever sets the ceiling for everything else.
- STEP 01
Score the 16 drivers
Take the free 5-minute scorecard, or score them with us in week one of the Reset.
- STEP 02
Name the weakest lever
The lowest lever, and its lowest driver, is your constraint.
- STEP 03
Build the fix
One project per driver, built in your business, not left as homework.
- STEP 04
Re-score every 90 days
When the constraint moves, the next lever becomes the focus.
Growth Formula vs EOS
EOS is one of the most searched business frameworks in Australia. Both give a business structure. They're built for different stages.
| EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) | Elephant Growth Formula | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Six components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, Traction | Four levers and sixteen drivers that multiply into business value |
| Best fit | Teams with a leadership group to run the meetings | Owner-led businesses, $300K–$5M, 1–10 staff |
| Where it starts | Rolling out the whole system | The one constraint holding the rest back |
| Money | Tracked through a scorecard of numbers | Margin, cash, revenue expansion and business value are a lever of their own |
| Who runs it | Usually a certified implementer | Shehan, working in your business, with the Elephant team behind him |
The Growth Formula, answered.
No jargon, just straight answers.
You don't have to figure this out on your own.
Thirty minutes, free. We'll talk about where the business is, where you want it to be, and whether the Reset is the right next step.
