Dom and I have a company that grew 100% last year. This year, we’re looking at it growing around 50%, on the conservative side. This rapid growth is happening in ALL directions – costs, revenue, personnel, space, and presence. It’s tremendous. It’s what any business owner would want to happen. Dom and I are unbelievably lucky and grateful.
But the pressures are enormous. My underlying conceit is that if the company grows 100%, the people in it need to growth 100%. It’s a lot to ask – who can honestly say that they are able to grow 100% each year? What does that really mean? What if someone just – oh, I don’t know – grows 50%? Is that good enough?
That’s a logical fallacy that I fell into for the past year. Me = my company. My success = my company’s success. My health = company’s health. Living like that will drive a heart attack eventually.
DOM & TOM’s company motto is “Do Good, Be Good”. The internal manta for me was a variation – “Be Better, Do Better.” I took that to mean that I needed to be a better manager, a better leader, and a more-morale creature. And the pressure just increased because of it. And then, after thorough discussions with Julie and my friends, the reality is that I just need be a well-rested, stable me. No matter what the capitalists say, continued rapid growth is neither sustainable nor always desirable.
The challenge we all face that the person we are today is creating the person we need to be tomorrow. I’ve never met Future Tom, but I hope I’m doing the things today to make sure he’s ready for tomorrow’s challenges. I also hope he’s happy, well-rested, likes his tea, and takes time with the things that makes him happy rather than anxious. That’s the source of being better and really doing good.