“In 2021, I learned more deeply what the SuperFriend Model needs to succeed, some of which we had and some of which we didn’t. It needs a network supply that exceeds the pipeline demand. It needs someone whose job it is to continue to grow the network. It needs a steady supply of work. It needs laser focus on a niche. It needs ways to support and engage the people in the network. It needs a mechanism to train people in what it means to work like a SuperFriend. It needs a large and steady amount of working capital…As many of those things become less available—especially capital—the SuperFriend Model becomes more and more difficult to sustain.”

Dan mall

The above was written by Dan Mall, as part of a year end review of his agency SuperFriendly. The review is a deep dive on why 2021 was their worst year to date and why he was stopping his efforts to scale his agency. It’s worth a read even if you don’t run an agency as an example of how to reflect on business.

Dan has been working this business model for 10 years. His lessons from a difficult year are not complex:

  • Business focus
  • Steady supply of work (pipeline demand)
  • Accessible & capable workforce (network)
  • Strong people systems
  • Good capital reserves (good being relative to costs)

My formula for growth looks like this:

Energy + Resources + Pattern = Expanding capability/capacity

Dan’s ingredients according to these categories:

Pipeline demand + Capital and available workers + Sophisticated people systems = Expanded profit generating capacity

He was facing serious challenges in several of these categories. In response, he’s taking his lessons from trying to scale back to a smaller version of his agency. The formula is similar, but easier to achieve:

Less pipeline demand + But with less capital and workers needed + Simpler systems = Expanded profit generating capacity

He’s going to improve his ability to make money- which counts as growth in my book.

The consequence of this choice is that he is now integral to operations and value delivery. For him, for his values, skills, and objectives, this isn’t a bad situation- it’s a place of leverage.

Many of the forces that drive our growth are not in our control:

  • You can’t control market trends like Covid or inflation.
  • You can’t control workforce trends like the normalization of virtual work.
  • You can’t control the availability of capital for you or your customers.

The result is that some of the formula you will work with will be fixed. That doesn’t mean it no longer matters. If you want to grow, you have to figure out a way to solve the equation by changing the elements in your control.

Intentional growth isn’t something you achieve by force of will, but rather a negotiation with circumstance.

Featured image is The Horse Fair – a depiction of the Paris horse market in the 1850s by Rosa Bonheur (1852-55). Used under public domain.