It’s easy to look at successful, high growth companies and think, “I want that.”
But what’s missed in examining a company’s current success is the steps they took to create the conditions for growth.
Success is a result
Success comes after you make Big Goals and take Bold Actions.
National Logistics Services (NLS), for example, is the go-to logistics provider for fashion and footwear companies. The company is growing in excess of 30% year-over-year, and every month has been profitable since June 2010. In fact, they hired over 100 employees in the first quarter of this year alone — growing their team to 450 people.
But to achieve this level of growth started with a choice.
Prior to 2008 NLS were generalists. Peter Reaume, CEO of NLS explains, “We were doing a bit of everything: entertainment, healthcare, food, and pharmaceuticals. We were growing, but we had no brand. It wasn’t sustainable. We were not experts in anything.”
To tilt the odds in their favor they made a choice: grow a brand.
Big Goals take sacrifice
NLS made deep, painful sacrifices to grow a brand.
To create the conditions for growth they repositioned the company from being generalists to experts in the fashion and footwear category. And it cost them.
Many companies experience a terrifying lull after they commit to a niche — what I call sales purgatory. NLS went eighteen months with virtually no new sales, and they did it with over 250 employees!
It was a painful and scary transition, but they knew they had to commit to their Big Goals if they wanted to grow a brand.
No Guts, No Glory
Creating a high growth company is not accidental. It takes guts to commit to such big, audacious goals. It takes guts to stick to your goals when your company is suffering and making deep sacrifices. It takes guts when everyone else in your industry isn’t following the same path.
But the few companies with the guts to commit to Big Goals and take Bold Actions have an opportunity to outperform their peers.
Success is a result. Do you have the guts to commit to your Big Goals and take Bold Actions?
