The Long Game of Growth

A catapult is a device that can thrust objects at a high speed, so I thought it was a good name for my company (Davis Wright Tremaine's Trademark team gets credit for the "Pacific" part). Swift, clear guidance, followed by impactful and immediate action for our clients is one of our most fundamental operating principles. Many of our clients are in the middle market and working hard on various growth initiatives. Most of us are familiar with the notion of growing too fast. Helping companies address the risks of taking on too many clients or even worse, accepting "bad" revenue is challenging. It's very tempting to watch the top line and earnings skyrocket and try to make that meter spin even faster. The danger of fulfillment and quality issues looms large in this scenario, and it is particularly dangerous for a new company building a reputation and brand. It only takes a few failures to hit the company hard in the long term. This is a simple and fairly widely understood concept to work through with a client. 

I didn't anticipate though, how different it would feel when it was my own company. Starting something that is scalable requires capital and risk. I went in full speed, built an infrastructure, hired W-2 employees, onboarded 50+ consultants and "catapulted" the company out there very quickly. Honestly, it was pretty scary. Then the clients came. Fast. I was looking at our pipeline and win rate and the results and couldn't believe what was happening. Then, I heard Yoda's voice in my head "The Hungry Hippo is strong in you mmmmm" (I included an image from that Hasbro game for those of you who sadly won't get the reference. If you don't get the Yoda reference, I cannot help you). 

A switch flipped in my head, and I thought about the advice I would give to a client in this position. It would be to stop taking new business and knock it out of the park for those you have. It was painful to say no to new business. For two full months we focused only on delivery. I knew exactly what this meant in terms of cash flow and had to plan for that the next quarter. Anyone looking at the financials will see a gap (thankfully followed by a rebound). The gap still pisses me off, but I wouldn't trade the choice for anything. Growing in a measured, healthy way when your product or service is resonating in the marketplace is really, really hard. I have a new respect for those who are faced with this choice and will now be a better trusted advisor for having gone through it in this way myself. Up and to the right is a long game!