When Should You Stop Growing?

Author and artist William S. Burroughs famously stated, “When you stop growing, you start dying.”

In Silicon Valley, shark-like forward motion is evangelized and celebrated. One must be constantly moving. Constantly doing. But movement in and of itself is not growth.

Meaningful growth is what we at Karbo Com plan for and what we’re driven to achieve. It’s accomplishing something important, not just doing something for the sake of doing.

Is there ever an appropriate time to take your foot off the gas and temporarily ‘coast along’ when it comes to intellectual, fiscal and physical growth? At Karbo Com we plan and hold each other accountable for successful intellectual and fiscal growth. We know it means nothing without the success of our clients. But we’ve also, at times, temporarily suspended taking on more clients to ensure we don’t compromise the quality of our work and our lives.

Once a year, everyone at Karbo Com takes time to fully commit to asking and answering the important questions that will drive our success in the coming year. What did we do right this year? What can we improve?  What are our 2019 objectives? How can our PR and digital services remain state of the art? What technology areas and clients should we pursue? How do we stay one step ahead of competitors? How do we maintain the culture we love while hiring to meet the demands for our services?

Everyone in the company attends our offsite, because everyone adds value. In our boutique firm, there can’t be any weak links. At our annual offsites, we tune out the noise and frenetic activity of the industry to create an oasis of strategic thinking, creativity and camaraderie. We are unflinchingly honest with ourselves. We channel constructive criticism and new ideas into laser-focused plans.

This year we met in Las Vegas. One of my favorite activities was when one of our account directors, Sian, had us write our name on a stack of blank 3×5 cards. We then passed them around the conference room. Each person anonymously shared what they admired about the person whose name was on the cards. This activity said a lot about the kind of company and people we are.

Outside our strategy meetings we looked to strengthen the bonds we share as a team. Like sitting front row at Jabbawockeez, playing in the dirt in bulldozers and excavators at Dig This, riding high on the Ferris wheel, and enjoying inspiring food at some of the best restaurants.

Yes, we’re growing and not dying. But we’re doing it in ways that are meaningful to our success, our happiness and making our mark on the world. That’s the KC Way.

Wishing you success as you do things your way in 2019!