Built to Grow
A Survival Manual for Growing Companies
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I have witnessed numerous highflying companies come crashing to the ground. Through these experiences, I’ve learned a fundamental truth: Businesses don’t fail. Leaders fail. Nearly all leaders who preside over struggling businesses slip into several leadership traps on the way down. These traps can be so destructive that they can overshadow a leader’s strengths. Read More
As a leader, it doesn’t matter how talented and successful you are, you are going to make mistakes. Over the last 20 years, I have had the opportunity to run various businesses and to work with or coach numerous business leaders in a broad range of industries. Through this experience, I have seen that even great leaders struggle through periods where they veer off course. Read More
Along with the rise of electronic communication in the workplace, I’ve observed a disturbing trend: leaders using technology where leadership is required. And the result is dysfunctional leaders and dysfunctional organizations. The more that a leader relies on technology in personal interactions, the less personal and less effective he becomes. Read More
When you’re clawing your way to the top, it’s easy to cling to the illusion that you’ll have everything figured out when you get there. But when you get there, you find out some things remain unknown or uncomfortable. As talented, experienced, and motivated as you are, you are only one person. It can seem like there’s nowhere else to turn. The top job can be overwhelming. People jump from the top floors in buildings, not the bottom floors. Read More
Successful growth companies have a healthy paranoia about their success. They know that competitive advantage deteriorates over time unless it is constantly cultivated and reinforced. And these companies are seriously concerned with future threats to their continued success. But far too often, once “hot” companies cool off because they are too focused on harvesting their success to notice the world is changing around them. Read More
I regularly come across companies with the same basic symptoms: A misty image of the future, lack of a common purpose or shared aspirations, resistance to change, overwhelming problems and unrealized opportunities, and a general sense of unease. These are challenges that can only be solved with leadership. Read More
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. Read More
Hiring is the most critical component in scaling a business. Period. Nothing else comes close. The people you choose to hire will impact every part of your business. It’s talent that fuels innovation, customer loyalty, a great culture, and almost every other influence in an organization. It’s talent that adapts, overcomes obstacles, and creates growth. And yet every day I see leaders haphazardly approach the hiring process. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
