Let’s take a look at some of the Pacific Northwest companies. They are all successful, with many of them dominating their industries. Some, however, are widely successful. The question is: What sets apart successful companies from those that achieve extraordinary success?
The answer I find is imagination—and the courage to execute it. Obviously, excellent execution is a given for any successful company. But is that enough?
A company begins with an idea or concept—call it an egg. That egg eventually hatches when customers can interact with it, turning it into a baby. It becomes a toddler when it finds product-market fit. Then comes the teenage growth spurt. During this phase, the product is refined—just like a teenager gains education and skills. Eventually, it reaches adulthood, where it produces net profits and becomes self-sustaining. Like life itself, maturity arrives.
But what do adults do? Some don’t just sustain themselves—they reproduce, grow, and educate the next generation until it reaches adulthood.
Successful companies understand this cycle. Their baby will inevitably mature, so they keep imagining new ideas—sometimes even wild ones. They recognize that a 1% chance of success for a new idea is far more valuable than a 90% chance of success from improving an existing feature (which they already do).
In many successful companies, selling a 1% chance of success is difficult because of the fear of 99% failure. Even when they adopt a 1% idea, internal resistance—the antibodies of the company—try to reject it.
Widely successful companies, however, will do anything to capture that 1% chance and nurture it.
In upcoming posts, we’ll explore some examples. Meanwhile, feel free to share your own examples in the comments—we might even highlight them!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are solely my own and do not reflect those of my current or past employers.