I ran into someone at a conference who had just exited his agency. We had a conversation that lasted less than a minute. In that minute, it confirmed a perspective that I have about growth.
After I congratulated him on his exit, I asked him what it took to grow it to the point where he could sell it?
He said, “You know, it’s funny. I didn’t do anything. I never had any intention of growing, but we couldn’t not grow. Work was piling up and so I kept hiring to accommodate it.”
There hasn’t been a year in the business where I haven’t been focused on growth. My experience has always been pushing a recalcitrant mule to move a few feet forward. For the guy at the conference, his experience was getting dragged behind a galloping horse.
In the digital product world, there’s a concept called “product market fit.” (PMF) This occurs when your product is perfectly designed for the needs of the market. One of the measurements of PMF is that it feels like the market is pulling the product out of your business.
We tend to look inwards and focus on all the different levers we can pull in the business to try and drive growth. And while they do matter, they’re all secondary and derivative to how well your product matches the needs of the market.
Featured image is Phaethon in the chariot of the Sun, Godfried Maes, ca 1664-1700. Phaethon was the mortal offspring of Helios, the sun god, who died trying to drive his father’s chariot across the sky. Used under public domain.