Leading at the Speed of Growth: Journey from Entrepreneur to CEO

Commentary, August, 2001. This is an important book for several audiences. First, it should help entrepreneurs understand the skills and experience that are required to move from start up, or as the authors put it, from "initial growth," through "rapid growth," and finally into "continuous growth" phases. Thoughtful entrepreneurs will ask of themselves: "Do I have those shills - if not, what must I do to gain them? And, do I have what it takes to do so?" If they are truly honest with themselves, a good number will realize that it will take different individuals with different skills and experience to lead their creation through these phases, and act accordingly. The second group range from board directors, especially if venture capitalists are among them, and trusted personal advisors, especially if the entrepreneur does not have a true board comprised of some seasoned executives or consultants with requisite experience. These are the individuals who are in the best position to make these kind of judgments.Many years ago, I was in the office of the head of one of the more successful venture capital firms in Boston...let's call him Mr. D. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss a possible collaboration with one of his ventures. As the discussion unfolded, it was clear that his attention was elsewhere, so I asked him if this was the case. He seemed relieved, and emotionally stated that he had just concluded a phone conversation with the outside directors of a promising venture in which he was the lead investor. The venture, with annual revenues over $20 million, was pioneering a new, important technological field. The outside directors were aware of the leadership problems, and were not surprised that Mr. D. was recommending the removal of the founder and his replacement an individual Mr. D. believed had the skills, experience, and desire to lead the company well into the rapid growth phase profitably. This was in spite of Mr. D's several frank one-on-one discussions with the firm's founder that revolved around his bringing in a new CEO, thereby permitting the founder to concentrate on the R & D efforts that were so essential for success. The founder refused to relinquish total control of his baby.The founder's loss represented a serious setback for the investors, but one if not taken put the venture at extreme risk. It took several years before the company got back on its rapid growth phase while retaining its leadership position in its markets.Would the entrepreneur have acted differently if he had read Catlin & Matthews' book with its real life examples? I can't tell, but he might have accepted his new role...after all, it would have been in his own self-interest - he owned about 30% of the stock.Another example. I was on the board of a company facing the same kind of problem. The company had grown from $800,000 in revenues to somewhat over $5 million in 15 months. The CEO confided in me that the joy of building his creation was being displ

Entrepreneurs who hope to build lasting businesses should read this book and then keep it within easy reach at all times. The invaluable lessons that the authors provide about how to grow into the role of CEO will save many people from driving their businesses into the ground or being cast aside by their investors because they don't know how to change the way they lead as the company moves from one growth stage to the next. I plan to make this book my standard Christmas gift to clients who need the wisdom contained in its pages.

How many founding entrepreneurs are still in the CEO role at the IPO and beyond? If you look at those that are backed by professional investors, you'll see that the vast majority of companies reaching the public market are without their founding entrepreneur at the helm by IPO time.Leaders looking to build a company to last, and plan on being around to see it, will want to buy this book to help in their own understanding of the stages of company growth that are clearly profiled from the insights and quotes of real life entrepreneurs. More than just understanding stages that a high growth company goes through, it is the recognition of where one's own state of leadership maturity is that may make the difference between your personal growth or being forced to pass the mantle of your company's leadership to a "professional manager."I found the stages for both company and leadership growth to be dead on in recounting what has been a ten year journey for me - as well as consistent with what I see in the high growth venture backed companies that comprise my customer base. Even with several aspects of those stages behind me, I find the book to present a useful framework that helped prompt healthy discussion within our management team to stimulate further change. Martin Babinec CEO, TriNet Group, Inc.

Catlin and Matthews have captured the essence of the struggles and pitfalls that face a rapid growth entrepreneur. This book is MUST reading for any entrepreneur. Does the company really know where to focus if there is no vision and plan for the company? Are we trying to win the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup is my analogy. This book illuminates the underlying bottlenecks to growth and alignment within a fast growing company. The book is easy reading with numerous quotes from other entrepreneurs that support the themes of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I found it well written and intelligently laid out.Any entrepreneur involved in a fast growing business should read this book. It will help them to understand the changes and transitions that they can expect to go through, both personally and through their business.