In these heady days of Internet startups with astronomic valuations and phantom profits well into the next millennium, hyper-growth has suddenly become part of the furniture. We expect it, we re-arrange our financial lives around it, we consider it a decorative byproduct of entrepreneurial genius. One thing we don't generally do is recoil at it. But perhaps we should. Or, at minimum, respect it a bit more.
Rapid growth is both a tonic for emerging companies and a potentially fatal elixir.
For while every CEO strives to generate heat, hot companies burning through venture capital have a way of losing their way. Corporate culture can be diluted virtually overnight, and knowledge transfer stopped before it truly has a chance to begin. Still, if you look closely, you can discern policies and practices that render growth an obstacle, not an achievement. In the new economy, companies are built at a dizzying pace, in part by doling out options in lieu of cash. For most of us, the promise of a fat wad of cash down the road is a lovely reason to stick around.