Setting realistic goals

How fast can you grow?

Posting impressive growth in a new startup shouldn’t be that hard. If you’ve got any traction at all, you’ll be building on low base figures.

You see it in those lists of “this year’s fastest growing companies”. In percentage terms the growth is spectacular, be it revenues, customer numbers, or some other metric.  After all, if you started with one customer and now you have three, that’s a 200% increase.

That’s not to say that rapid growth is not a good thing, it’s just that it’s almost a given in the early stages of business life.

It’s also not a great indicator of sustainability. 

Click to read more ...

Intuition: Friend or Foe?

What to do with those “hunches”.

In 1977, three of us launched a truck driver’s tabloid. We got the idea while lying on a beach. We sold it to a printing company and negotiated a handsome package to produce the editorial.

We had no strategy. We did no market research. We just put it together and put it out there. Rigs and Roads was an instant success.

Why?

Click to read more ...

Dealing with speed

Constant evolution and competitive edge.

My phone asked me to upgrade several apps today. It often does, and I dutifully did so. If you want to avoid OMG territory when people borrow your phone, that’s what you do.

Today’s installations likely ironed out a few earlier bugs. Some added a new capability. Others look a bit different but most look much the same.

When it comes to consumer trends, ‘up’ is the new black. We are encouraged to constantly upgrade. We are upsized, often literally, and we are regularly upsold.

Click to read more ...

Struggling to get the big picture?

Try cycling.

What will the issue be today? Cash flow? Customers? Operations? There’s always something going on. It’s not just business. Life is a big to do list: family, education, career, housing, finance. There’s a lot to manage.

We are supposed to be guided by strategic vision – standing astride our world, emotionally detached, leading others and ourselves through the maze of ordinary day-to-day stuff.

That’s a pretty dumb expectation.

Click to read more ...

When is the right strategy wrong?

Planning Vs. The Plan

There’s a lot to be said for strategic plans. Maybe too much. I Googled them a few moments ago and got 128 million results.

Strategic plans are a useful road map. We like to know where we are going and there’s nothing wrong with a target. But are they essential?

Click to read more ...