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No Man’s Land

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No Man’s Land

Where Growing Companies Fail

Portfolio,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

How do you get your adolescent company through its awkward phase?

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Doug Tatum provides an informative overview for companies in their adolescence. Many entrepreneurs have no idea how to navigate “No Man’s Land” – the dangerous, entrapping middle ground between initially surviving as a start-up and growing into a large-scale company or organization. Minefields await CEOs who may not realize the future implications of their smallest actions during this crucial and inevitable stage of development. In No Man’s Land, every company changes. A leader’s inspirational vision may get deflated when it runs into the complexity that comes with growth. Tatum also provides insight for entrepreneurs who feel the pressure to grow, but are ambivalent about what growth brings. getAbstract recommends his advice to every entrepreneur who must cope with the pitfalls of success – and to every aspiring entrepreneur who wants to.

Summary

Awkward Adolescence

Your business will reach a stage where it is no longer a small start-up, but can’t yet function as a larger company. If you try to handle every aspect of this transition yourself, your unavoidable mistakes might hold your company back. The number of people you employ and how much money you earn indicates whether you are in “No Man’s Land”; if you have between 20 and 100 employees and have between $5 and $50 million in annual revenues, the answer is yes, you’re there.

All businesses have multiple opportunities to fail. Many start-ups fail before they are five years old. Rapid growth pulls others into initiatives they cannot sustain, and they falter during their early rapid growth. Many “gazelles” that make it through most of No Man’s Land can’t make the final transition. Those that succeed become breakthrough organizations or merger candidates.

To escape No Man’s Land, you must manage four M’s. The first is how will your company make its growth transition within your changing “Market.” Second, you must establish the right “Management.” Third, your business “Model” has to indicate that the company is more profitable as it grows. Fourth...

About the Author

Doug Tatum is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Jim Moran Institute at Florida State University, the Chairman of Newport Board Group and the former CEO of Tatum, LLC.

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