Market-Driven vs. Management-Driven Leadership: Which One Are You?

In the mid-mar­ket world, it’s not uncom­mon to hear com­pa­nies explain per­for­mance this way:

“The market’s up, so we’re doing well.”
​“The market’s down, so it’s been tough.”

That might sound rea­son­able — but it reveals a dan­ger­ous mind­set: a com­pa­ny whose per­for­mance is teth­ered to exter­nal con­di­tions rather than inter­nal execution.

Mar­ket-Dri­ven vs. Management-Driven

As one exec­u­tive put it:

• Mar­ket-dri­ven com­pa­nies ride the waves. Their growth mir­rors the market.
• Man­age­ment-dri­ven com­pa­nies set their own course. They build inter­nal engines that out­per­form even in headwinds.

It’s the dif­fer­ence between drift­ing and steering.

The 20 Mile March

Jim Collins cap­tured this dis­tinc­tion well with the idea of the 20 Mile March. One team march­es 20 miles every day, rain or shine. Anoth­er push­es hard on good days and retreats on bad ones.

The dis­ci­plined marchers win — every time.

Man­age­ment-dri­ven com­pa­nies oper­ate this way. They define their own per­for­mance stan­dards and hit them regard­less of the mar­ket cycle. It’s not luck. It’s leadership.

Why It Matters

Tying your out­comes to exter­nal forces means ced­ing con­trol. But lead­ers who choose to be man­age­ment-dri­ven hold them­selves account­able to inter­nal tar­gets, not indus­try averages.

Ask your­self:

• Are we accept­ing what the mar­ket gives us?
• Or are we cre­at­ing the results we expect?

Four Ways to Shift Toward Man­age­ment-Dri­ven Leadership

1. Set Non-Nego­tiable Tar­gets: Define the out­comes that mat­ter most — and com­mit to hit­ting them no mat­ter what.
2. Obsess Over Con­trol­lables: Your exe­cu­tion, cus­tomer expe­ri­ence, team pro­duc­tiv­i­ty — these are always with­in reach.
3. Build Resilience Sys­tems: When uncer­tain­ty strikes, don’t wait it out. Dou­ble down on what you can influence.
4. Keep March­ing: Don’t lead by mood. Lead by discipline.

Chal­lenge

The mar­ket will rise and fall. That’s a giv­en. The real ques­tion is:

Will you rise and fall with it? Or lead with the dis­ci­pline of a 20 Mile Marcher — set­ting the pace, build­ing resilience, and steer­ing your own course?

Resources

• The Mind­set of a Growth Company
• Are You Obsessed with Your Customers?
• Cash Reserves: Too Much, Not Enough or Not Sure?
• Pod­cast: Exec­u­tive Burnout: Rebuild­ing Your Resilience