The Quiet Revolution in Business Building
Everyone’s obsessed with scaling fast these days. It’s like we’re all in some kind of corporate drag race, burning rubber toward an imaginary finish line. But here’s the thing: building a lasting business isn’t about speed – it’s about laying tracks.
I’ve been watching this interesting experiment unfold. A portfolio approach to building recruiting companies that’s completely counter to what most people are doing. Instead of chasing the “bigger is better” dream, they’re building something more like a well-tended garden: multiple specialized companies, each growing at its own natural pace.
Think about how most companies approach growth. They’re like kids in a candy store, grabbing at every shiny new tool, every possible market, every potential revenue stream. But what if we flipped the script? What if we focused on building the infrastructure first, then growing into it?
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
First, you build the house before you invite guests over. That means getting your operations solid, your systems in place, your people trained. Not sexy stuff, but necessary. It’s amazing how many companies skip this part.
Then, you focus on the fundamentals. Regular business development, consistent execution, careful technology choices. No chasing the latest AI tool just because everyone’s talking about it. Instead, asking the simple question: “Does this actually help us serve our clients better?”
But here’s where it gets really interesting. Instead of pushing everyone to hit arbitrary growth targets, you create space for natural leaders to emerge. You watch how people perform before handing out equity. You build trust through demonstrated success, not promises.
The result? A business that grows like a healthy tree instead of a balloon. You’re not just expanding – you’re building something that can sustain its own weight.
Is it slower? Maybe. Does it feel less exciting than the “unicorn” approach? Probably. But it’s how real, lasting businesses are built.
The beauty of this approach is that it works in any market condition. When times are good, you’re not overextending. When times are tough, you’re not scrambling to cut costs. You’re just steadily building, improving, growing.
That’s the quiet revolution happening in business building. It’s not about making noise – it’s about making progress.