It stops your company in its tracks while everything else moves at high speed
Ten years ago, most people thought Tesla would go bankrupt, and fifteen years ago, everyone assumed the iPhone would be a niche luxury product.
Neither Elon Musk nor Steve Jobs could have known in advance that they were developing two of the world’s most profitable products and brands.
Yet they invested the necessary resources over many years to develop and realize two ideas they believed could revolutionize and dominate the markets for cars and mobile phones, respectively.
The return on these investments was slow to materialize, while the costs of product development were very clear in month-to-month financials.
If your company is to achieve something big in the long run, small, short-term thinking won’t cut it.
Think of your business as a long-term investment calculation.
Value creation and profit can only be maximized if you extend the horizon for capitalization far beyond the next year’s financials and if you’re willing to temper the need for immediate profit slightly over the coming years.
If you focus only on optimizing one fiscal year at a time, you’ll never create enough room in the company to explore and pursue ideas that could accelerate growth.
Allow me to be a bit black-and-white here—sometimes that’s necessary to bring attention to what can be positively changed in our mindset or behavior.
If your ego, your fear of losing even a bit of this year’s profit, and the natural conservatism that comes with it are the forces guiding your business decisions, then your company is effectively on the path toward stagnation, decline, and potential breakdown.
It’s only a matter of time before competitors and startups, investing in the development of future business models, brands, and products, erode your relevance and competitiveness.
Fear is a loser because it holds your company still in markets where everything else is moving faster than ever.
Are you cycling around in a vicious cycle that will ultimately lead to the collapse of your business?
Yes or No?
On the other hand, if you’re ready to start leading your company with patience and innovation to unlock its full long-term potential, you can easily create the necessary space in the coming years’ budgets to develop the products that will trigger renewed growth and secure your competitiveness for years to come.
Take a bit from today’s profits to develop tomorrow’s business.
It will be a great deal—and your best investment yet.
No doubt about it.
