Jiva DeVoe From a book I'm reading on business development "Growing a Business":http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Business-Paul-Hawken/dp/0671671642/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237953722&sr=8-1 by Paul Hawken: _"Do you want to be a mushroom or an oak tree? Spores beat out Acorns every time in growth rates, but never in longevity or durability."_ He's referring to whether you want to grow fast or slow. Hawken advocates a middle-ground growth rate that suits your business and is sustainable. He says that while everyone knows growing too little can cause a business to fail, our society's focus on the fastest growth as a measure of success is misguided, and that companies that grow too fast can quickly outstrip their ability to manage themselves. Related, he also advises that during recessions is the time to expand, and during booms is the time to be fiscally conservative. This is counter-intuitive, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. If you are able to expand during recession times without going into debt, then you know that you can maintain that expanded size (and the costs associated with it) during more financially tight periods. Similarly, staying conservative during booms is wise, because all booms eventually end, and it's important not to become reliant on that boom-time revenue to the point that when it is gone, you have no choice but to cut costs. I think he's absolutely right on both counts, and it's something that those of us who are experiencing rapid growth due to the success of the iPhone should keep in mind. I want our business to be an oak... long lasting and strong. The economy is in recession now, and we're doing well. Does that mean we should be pressing forward on expansion? Or is the iPhone creating an artificial bubble of success and we should be being conservative? Decisions. 2009-04-08T01:06:00Z 26 2009-04-08T01:20:54Z