english - Gazelles

10 MASTERING THE ROCKEFELLER HABITSChapter 4, Mastering the Use of Core Values) and put in the systems,metrics, and structures necessary to deal with the complexity. He’s builtthe culture and discipline that, in 2000, got The Lawrence Group voted“the best place to work” in St. Louis for his size category of firms.With growth, market pressures increase and strategic decisionscome with higher stakes. At $10 million and higher, CEOs often feeltheir attention is being pulled inside the business just when theymost need to be focusing on what’s happening outside in the market.McKinney of McKinney Lumber says that hard experience has taughthim that growth decisions are dangerous if you don’t have a good feelfor what’s going on both inside and outside the business.“You have to understand where you are within your own industryand know that you’ve got everything handled before you try to stepup to the next level, because a fall off the side of that mountain canbe deadly,” McKinney says. “There are points along the way whenyou’ve got to get across the entire canyon to the next growth plateauin one jump. You don’t get two jumps. But maybe you don’t have tojump at all. Maybe the tigers on this side aren’t as mean as the lionson the other side.”The plain truth is that growing a gazelle can be so painful at certainstages that many an otherwise successful CEO has looked to anexit strategy. Shannan Marty was sufficiently distressed with TracerResearch Group’s flagging fortunes just last year that she was ready tosell—until a technological breakthrough captured the markets attentionand convinced her and her partner to abandon the sale. Back in1999, when Express-Med was struggling, Alan Rudy was consideringeither quitting or scaling back the business to a point where it mightseem fun again.Grow ThyselfBut tough times offer good CEOs the opportunity to look at themselvesand their role with new eyes. Molly Bolanos of Mostly Muffinssays increased managerial sophistication through executive trainingand coaching has allowed her to re-evaluate and re-define her role.“I’ve realized that my unique ability is connecting with people—sellingwho we are and where we’re going. I don’t have to manage thenumbers anymore, because I have a structure doing that for me. Thepotential now seems endless. Now, when I think about how to growCopyright 2002 © por Verne Harnish