Growth yes… At what cost though?
This week, I had an interesting conversation with a very senior individual who has invested in multiple organizations.
The conversation was around how, in today’s competitive market many organizations are just driven by revenue only. The observation was that it was important to build a strong foundation first and foremost, in order to scale. Which, by focusing only on revenue, at times gets compromised. And eventually, drives failure.
Revenue growth is the single largest focus and yes it should be… but at what cost?
It is no different from an individual perspective as well.
One of my uncles once said, 30s are probably the most challenging years of one’s life. Everything hits you at once, driving stability in both personal and professional life, growing children, multiple loans to re-pay, mid management challenges etc. etc. In a way it is true.
Many of us are battling high work pressure and financial pressures at the same time. It takes a toll on health, relationships and overall well-being.
While there are no right or wrong answers or straight jacket solutions, some thoughts that come to mind:
Important vs. Urgent:
- This is an age old classical one. There is just so much merit in this statement. We are all running behind the urgent that the relevance of important issues get lost like personal health and sustainable growth of the company.
Responsibility:
- Not just to ourselves and the shareholders but to the ecosystem around us. What happens to us or what we do impacts our families, employees, customers, vendors etc. Hence, it goes back to the ‘responsible governance’ discussion.
Defining ‘at what cost’ and making it clear:
- Understanding and acknowledging what it is you are going after and making it clear to all. If the focus is to grow at any cost, so be it. However, communicate and let everyone know so that no one is in the dark.
End of the day we all exist to grow – qualitatively and quantitatively. At what cost is for each one to decide…