Leaders of mid-sized companies often ask me, “How can we get more clients?” It’s a good question, and it usually leads to a conversation about making two lists.

The first list is the one you’d expect. It’s a list of all the things you think you should be doing: go to more conferences, ask for referrals, up your social media game. It’s the sensible, comfortable list.

Then there’s the second list. This one’s very different. It’s a list of things that scare you shitless.

Now, I’m not telling you to do any of these things. What’s terrifying and risky for one leader is a walk in the park for another leader. The specifics aren’t the point. But to give you a feel for it, the scary list might include things like:

*Firing your biggest, most time-consuming client.

*Doubling your prices overnight.

*Publishing your “secret sauce” for the world to see.

*Inviting your top three competitors to a private dinner to talk about the industry.

Again, these aren’t recommendations. You’re on your own to figure out what’s on your list. It’s not the specifics I want to hammer home. It’s the vibe. It’s the act of going towards what scares you. That’s the important part.

Why? Because the comfortable list, by its very nature, points you toward more of the same. It’s about optimizing the known. The scary list, on the other hand, points you towards growth and the unknown and the things that will force you and your organization to evolve.

Of course you needn’t do everything on your scary list. But you can’t ignore it. Your job is to always be seeding some of those ideas into your team’s biz dev. It’s a way of ensuring you don’t mistake comfort for strategy.