Finding the Right Path for Growth
The business world offers countless paths for entrepreneurs to choose. Some are paths of super-sonic speed that catapult a company to the top of the industry, seemingly overnight. Other paths include low risk and relatively low rewards, as business owners take the cautious path to avoid failure. The ideal path would involve steady growth and improvement, but unfortunately, none of these paths guarantee success in the end.
Depending on your goals and your industry, you may find it necessary to move at a certain pace. Those in technology must maintain a fast pace to keep up with the ever-changing needs of an ever-growing market. Those in more traditional fields may feel that consistency and steady quality are more important than constant adaptation. As is the case in so many areas of business, the key here is balance.
No matter what your industry or how grand your goals, you need to be able to find the right balance of growth, change, adaptation and improvement that matches the needs of your customers and the demands of your field. To put it in relatively general terms, there are three basic speeds at which a company may grow.
Fast-paced
Some companies launch to the top of their respective fields in almost no time. While this would seemingly be the ideal course for any business, overnight success is often a matter of sheer luck. Even aside from the uncontrollable variables that are usually involved in this path, fast-paced growth is not without its drawbacks. Many companies quickly exceed the scope of what they can handle, either in terms of customers or countless other elements, and this can cause a collapse that is just as fast and epic as their rise.
Slow and Cautious
On the other side of the spectrum, many companies toil in mediocrity and microscopic growth for years, with little to show in terms of success. This is often the result of overly cautious decision making and/or an unwillingness to change by those at the top of the company. This path can certainly lead to a more predictable future when compared to the fast-paced path, but that future may never fully develop into anything meaningful. Businesses that end up on this path almost never reach their full potential.
Balanced Growth
To avoid the grand pitfalls of super-fast growth and the grinding mediocrity of overly cautious business, you have to find the balance that fits your needs. You want to be able to adapt and improve with the needs and trends of your market, but you must also remain consistent and true to the values that define your company. Finding this balance may be easier said than done, but understanding the importance of it and making decisions with this in mind will ensure that your company reaches its intended destination in the right amount of time.