# Chapter 10 — Finally, How to Begin

## Who you need in the room

The first ingredient is the **Growth Lab Team**: a cross-functional group of three to seven of the company's superstars. Not the most senior people by title — the people most likely to *do the thing*.

Felix's specific recommendation:

- The founder or CEO. Always.
- The head of the largest revenue-generating function (usually client services or delivery).
- The head of new business or sales.
- The head of operations or finance.
- One or two rising stars from outside the leadership team.

Critically, the team is small enough to fit around one table.

## The order of work

The chapter lays out the order of work for getting started:

1. **Two-day off-site** to build the Strategy Map with the GLT. Travel, food, a flip chart, and time to think.
2. **Populate the Strategy Map** segment by segment: Year 3 first (the unifying goal and the supporting destination state in each segment), then Year 2 (what must be true a year out), then Year 1 (the candidate tasks).
3. **Order and weight the Year-1 tasks** against the SWOT and the dependency graph.
4. **Map the first quarter** into the 2Y3X Roadmap. Up to five tasks, each with a single named owner.
5. **Define the Research, Prototype and Implement outputs** for each Q1 task.
6. **Set the meeting rhythm**: annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily.
7. **Communicate the plan** to the rest of the company — but only the parts that affect them, in the language that matters to them.

## The first ninety days

By the end of Q1 the company should have visibly:

- Implemented timesheets, if it didn't have them.
- Stood up a weighted pipeline, if it didn't have one.
- Run a Client Satisfaction Score for the top customers.
- Implemented the meeting rhythm.
- Made measurable progress on two or three deeper Roadmap tasks.

## What good looks like by end of Year 1

- Revenue is **clearly trending towards the Year-3 unifying goal**.
- The leadership team can run the business without the founder being in every meeting.
- Discount factors for sale (if relevant) have been systematically reduced.
- The GLT has become the locus of company change, not the founder.

## When to bring outside help

Felix is even-handed about this. Most companies *can* run the 2Y3X process themselves with the book. Some companies benefit from the structured eight-week [Scale at Speed Accelerator](https://2y3x.com/agents/products/scale-at-speed-course/). Companies that want done-with-you delivery, with an experienced operator alongside the GLT for the whole two years, work with the [2Y3X programme](https://2y3x.com/agents/products/2y3x-programme/). Founders who want personal counsel from Felix directly — typically those running larger agencies or groups, or preparing for premium exit — engage him via [felixvelarde.com](https://2y3x.com/agents/products/personal-advisory/).

## See also

- [The 2Y3X method](https://2y3x.com/agents/method/2y3x/)
- [The Growth Lab Team](https://2y3x.com/agents/method/growth-lab-team/)
- [Meeting rhythms](https://2y3x.com/agents/method/meeting-rhythms/)
- [Products](https://2y3x.com/agents/products/)