Digital Thoughts – Growing Pains

While not directly connected to the topic discussed in this week’s Trends Report, the purchase of CDT by 180 Solutions touches upon a topic that I would wager many in this space have faced – growth. With the successes of 2004, many in our space found themselves rapidly hiring in order to keep up with the opportunities and increased business available. When a company is small, communication and getting work done is easy. When companies grow larger, all of the sudden the old methods for getting work done no longer apply. When companies grow larger very quickly, the old method for getting work done not only doesn’t apply, it can cause trouble. This week’s Digital Thoughts ponders the topic of rapid growth and touches upon just a few of the infinite implications it can have for those undergoing the change.

Amazingly, many of the companies in our space started off with fewer than ten people, in most cases fewer than five. Some of the biggest names fall into this category. Some of the ones that we have never heard of and from whom we still expect money also fall into this category. What separates those that made it from those that didn’t? Certainly some had poor business models, less talent, and an inability to execute, but more than one that failed had just as much raw potential as one that succeeded. One area of differentiation is how these companies coped with the growth. Those that made it, appear to have found the balance between over-growth and controlled growth. In our space, especially, you need people to help scale, but it is the people that can also create the biggest challenge.

In many ways, our industry is unique. There is no formal training available or centralized place that helps defragment all information. Our type of Internet marketing shares many concepts with other businesses but has such a specialized language and approach that in many ways attempting to enter it feels like shadowing a doctor and trying to learn radiology from them. Certainly with all job functions and industries there exists, for those entering, an inherent learning curve. In growth mode, that learning curve can become the Achilles heel, with the challenge of overcoming it made all the more difficult by the absolute lack of resources for new employees. As the original group, you know what you want your people to do, but how in the world do you train them? What type of information do you give them to bring them up to speed? The curve challenge tends to be a lot easier when hiring from within the industry, as the old method of getting things done can work. But take someone new to the space, and getting them up to speed often means not getting your work done. All companies want people from the industry, but the reality of growth often means hiring capable people, not the ideal ones.

Two related outcomes of growth mode appear common in our space. The first is a lack in information sharing – a breakdown of the communication process – and the second, which stems from the first, is jeopardizing your customer base. When you are small, your clients know you. They get used to not only the best, most knowledgeable service but also quick implementation on outside of the box ideas. During growth, the business of running the business takes over and leads to the core group often getting away from the clients they serviced so well to grow the business in the first place. Were the originals to all continue doing what they did, they could not grow their business, so this transition must happen.

This growth and transition means among other things that others must handle the clients. Handing over certain existing clients can happen smoothly. Equipping your new outward facing employees to handle new clients often doesn’t happen as easily. Most of what makes those in the space successful stems from their exploiting, often not-understood, opportunities. This type of activity doesn’t translate to new employees easily. Growing an entrepreneurial business does not parallel running a Rite-Aid and hiring new cashiers – a function that can be reciprocated in scale across a wide range of people. Those in our space expect and need each new employee to add value. In growth mode, weak links can cause disproportionate damage to the budding group. That is why in growth mode ones ability to set proper communication process as people and functions segment becomes paramount.

So what is the trick to handling growth? I could suggest countless books, many of which are actually quite good. Looking for something simple to start? One suggestion is to take the time to write down what is in your head. Think of what you would want to know, were you to start, and what you want your employees to know. Without a doubt, it will take time. It will be painful, but those hours spent documenting and mapping out the information needed for your new employees to succeed and to stay focused will pay dividends. If someone told you that for every hour you document, you will save ten, would you do it? It will. Feel free to talk to those that have done it. This isn’t high school. Growth doesn’t have to be awkward.