“More businesses die from indigestion than starvation”

— David Packard

Our culture makes it tempting to want to always grow a business. More customers, more products, more services, more geographical area, more employees … it never ends. Until it does.

This can be true of non-profits as well, just with different words.

There’s a lot to be said for slow and steady growth, focusing on quality rather than quantity. Because “growth” involves tradeoffs, and what often suffers is employee experience, customer quality, service, and even government entanglements.

Fortunately, you get to choose.

Stability doesn’t mean that you don’t need to change. Customer needs are shifting, pandemics happen, and new solutions enter the market. Things are always churning, but you get to decide how much you want to grow your customer base and revenue.

Like most people in our society, I value the service that I get from Amazon. It’s an incredible success story, like the industrial revolution. But I’m also troubled by relying on them too much, so I actively seek out local alternatives or companies which align with my values. I worry about stories that I hear about how they treat employees. Because big growth comes with big tradeoffs.

So for your growth goals: What do you choose? Are you happy with the tradeoffs you’ll have to make?