Sublime

Clients will readily talk about the strengths and weaknesses of different practice groups within firms, but rarely can they perceive differences between whole firms (unless the entire firm is built around well-defined specialties). Accordingly, any attempt to develop a strategy from the top, and striving for actions that will differentiate the

“Bad companies,” Andy wrote, “are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.”

Our ability to attract the best startups is based on our reputations.

The second-best scenario is a serial entrepreneur CEO planning to build out a new team. Third best is a team that did amazing things, but perhaps due to macro market conditions did not achieve a high return for investors.

focusing the collective efforts of the firm’s principals around carefully chosen areas of experience would…

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What this reveals is that improving profitability has two distinct management components. Some elements (predominantly short-run “hygiene” issues) get overmanaged, and many (long-run “health” issues) are undermanaged.

In cultivating a mind-set for reflective improvisation,

As an organization follows this growth path, it goes through a predictable series of evolutions and revolutions. For more on these natural cycles, read professor Larry E. Greiner’s classic Harvard Business Review article titled “Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow,” from July-August 1972 (updated in May 1998).