Timing

I think there’s a lot of timing that comes into success in business. More and more as I learn more about companies and see management in action, I think that luck and timing plays a part in success more than people care to admit.

I think it’s far more likely that bad management can ruin a company than good management can save it. Good management has some influence, but mostly I think it’s taking advantage of opportunity and making investments when you can.

I saw this post about timing, and it makes a lot of sense to me. Your ability to succeed can come down to some amount of timing. I used auction sites, search engines, and video sites that existed before the current market leaders (Ebay, Google, and YouTube), but for some reason those died and didn’t succeed. I don’t think it was technology, or even management, though some of that might be true. I think it’s more that the timing was better for market leaders.

So what does that mean for you? First it means you can’t predict or count on a blockbuster, so don’t try. Second, it means build a sustainable business so you’ll be around if the opportunity for you to grow comes around.