Forgetting the lessons we learned
When we remember successful ideas, we remember the idea, less so how we made the idea successful. The success equation has two parts:
Success = Execution (how) + Idea (what)
When we write the narrative of success, we focus on the business, product, or service itself. Good ideas are dime to the dozen, it’s the execution that sets them apart. Remembering the “how” is important because it’s reusable. You can apply it to many more great ideas. The lessons of how has value to more many people.
When a start-up succeeds, it scales, but over the years the innovation slows. In 1965, the average life expectancy of a company was 32 years, in 2020 it was 21 years, and declining1. Sure, lots of factors have made this so, but as a company grows, the innovation slows, and eventually it passes into the annuls of history. We forget the hustle, we forget the teamwork, and we forget the creation culture and curiosity.
Larger companies focus on managing risk. The checks and balances, all well-intentioned, mean you can’t take a lunch break without twenty signatures. It’s a squeeze on autonomy and experimentation. Sure, you can’t take the same risks you once did as an upstart, but the straitjacket kills the very thing that got you there. The straitjacket may need removing to allow the next wow thing to happen.
There’s no easy solution and no right way to fix this. Remembering how we got there, and recognizing what’s different, is a lesson we can’t forget, otherwise you might end up having to relearn.