Why entrepreneurs need to stop pursuing growth at all costs

"In my 25 years as an entrepreneur and advisor to owner-led companies, I've seen too many business owners be consumed by the thing that's supposed to give them independence. They work longer hours and solve complex problems. Their company grows, yet they're no closer to the life they wanted to create. To be clear, growth in business is generally a good thing. But it does start to become an issue when you want to be bigger for the sake of being bigger."

"The subconscious reason you're drawn to bigger is that it's exactly what your ego wants. Ego is your worst enemy. It's weak, frail, and emotional. It clouds your judgment by convincing you that bigger is better, pulling you toward it like a moth to a flame. It doesn't know why you're going to the flame, or what will really happen once you get there."

"Your ego isn't concerned about risk. It lets you become complacent, distracted, or arrogant. It disconnects you from reality, providing you with bad feedback at the very moment you need clarity most. Ego tells you that your success to date was because of talent, rather than the years of grinding and hard work. It's the voice that discounts the important role that discipline and trial and error play in your success."

Many owner-led business owners become consumed by growth, work longer hours, and solve more complex problems without achieving the life they wanted. Growth is beneficial but becomes problematic when pursued for its own sake or to satisfy ego-driven desires for status. Ego is weak, frail, and emotional; it clouds judgment, downplays risk, and attributes success to talent rather than discipline. The endless pursuit of more can create a doom loop of poor choices and mounting pressure. Better companies grow because they are better, compounding improvement in teams, customers, offerings, and financials. Growth should result from doing the right things.

Read at Fast Company