Blog Archives

Leaders of growth aren’t successful without a strong team. And when it comes to managing their teams, they display two contradictory qualities: practicality and idealism. On the one hand, they are extremely practical – intensely aware of the realities of their situation and what is needed to succeed, and relentless in their focus on results. On the other hand, they are idealistic – visionaries who defy the odds to transform their ideas into reality by offering their teams support, motivation, and encouragement.

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You know CEOs who are constantly in the public eye. They spend a great deal of their time attending conferences, giving speeches, appearing on TV, and being interviewed by the business press. They perform flawlessly, with tremendous charisma and poise. They arouse confidence among the public, potential employees, and investors. But among those closest to them, they are a fraud.

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Growth companies often slow down because they are too focused on harvesting their success to launch new growth initiatives. Complacency creeps in. They still seem to be doing well, but as the current business slows – as it always does – they aren’t prepared to replace it. The best they can hope for, unless something changes, is to stay flat.

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Entrepreneurship is not the exclusive domain of venture-backed start-ups. And you don’t need to own a business to be an entrepreneur. What makes you an entrepreneur is the context in which you operate. Entrepreneurship is needed to create something new in an environment of uncertainty. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, or the size of the company. This view of entrepreneurship applies to anyone creating innovation anywhere.

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As your company grows, it is up to you to provide the leadership, rationale, and impetus for growth and change. You have to help people get comfortable with the idea that changes will be required again and again to meet the requirements of ever-higher levels of growth. The process of growth and change will need to be repeated many times in order for the organization to continue to grow.

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Perhaps you’ve grown your business without the advice of others, but your business most certainly will not reach its full potential if you continue to do so. All successful CEOs and entrepreneurs can benefit from the expertise of outsiders. But we’ve all heard the jokes and horror stories that plague the professional services industry. And I know all too well the damage that can result from failed engagements with outside experts.

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As a business scales, the role of its leadership needs to evolve and scale along with it. There are two key dimensions in which this evolution takes place: (1) The shift from a hands-on problem solver to ultimately a coach and mentor to others, and (2) the move from tactical execution to a strategic thinking. It takes time and effort to successfully make these transitions.

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“I don’t delegate because it’s easier just do it myself.” Or “No one can do this as well as I can.” Sound familiar? We’ve all said it. But this thinking is flawed. Delegating does take time and effort. And maybe you can do it faster or better. But there’s only one of you, and you don’t scale.

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There’s an inescapable truth I’ve found over twenty years of working with fast-growth companies: Instead of bringing out the hidden strengths of a business,success tends to bring out the hidden weaknesses.

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The biggest distinguishing factor between success and failure is almost always the senior management team. A high-performing team, with broadly differing viewpoints and perspectives, determines how far a business goes – more than the idea, more than the timing, and even more than the resources of the company.

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