Built to Grow
A Survival Manual for Growing Companies
100% privacy. No sharing or selling
of your information to any third party.
Browse the business section of any book store, read the business press, listen to academic theorists, gurus, or management consultants, and you’ll find plenty of prescriptions for what it takes to be a good CEO. Read More
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. Read More
Without proper planning you may find your growth creating an avalanche that buries you in unforeseen problems. Several times a year, there are stories about companies that got themselves into trouble because they “grew too fast.” In hindsight, the insiders in these companies describe the situation using expressions like “out of control” or “total chaos.” Read More
Effective decision making is essential to a successful business. Every day we are called upon to make decisions. Some are small and have little impact. Others carry a greater weight – decisions with important consequences. Invariably, mistakes are made along the way. The difficult truth is that very important decisions made by smart people sometimes go very wrong. Read More
A mindset is our perspective on the world and outlook on life. The choices we make reflect our mindset. Some people see new challenges as opportunities to learn, and for others, they are an opportunity to fail. Read More
It’s not easy to hear about our weaknesses. And telling others how they can improve is almost as difficult. Giving feedback can be awkward, messy, and uncomfortable. Feedback can raise defensiveness, fear, and anxiety. And when done badly, it can be emotionally devastating. Read More
In an earlier post I briefly touched on the importance of meetings in growing companies. I realize that meetings are a hot button in most organizations. But I want to provide you with the antidote to those unproductive wastes of time that we’ve all had to suffer through. Read More
Almost every growing organization complains about not having enough time to get everything done. People feel that they could work 24 hours a day 7 days a week and still fall behind. Everyone feels like they are spinning their wheels, people are stressed, and managers are desperately trying to juggle too many things at once. Read More
As organizations get larger and more complex, turning vision into action becomes more difficult. Making decisions, developing plans, strategies and initiatives is the easy part. But without execution, Big Ideas go nowhere. Read More
In business, problems are inevitable. No company ever sails smoothly to success. But the faster a business grows, the more it seems as though there is only enough time to find a quick fix for every problem that comes up. When an organization is moving fast and dealing with a daily crush of activity and firefighting, it’s sometimes difficult to slow down and address issues that are critical but don’t seem particularly urgent. Read More
