Should I Change The Direction Of My Company?

Years ago I was working at a company. The company was doing incredibly well. We were growing at pretty nice clip and the stock price was going up.

We were the dominant player in several different end markets. But there was a new market where we were gaining traction. Plus the new market had seemingly limitless potential.

One day we had a meeting with the CEO. The CEO decided to reallocate resources, so this new market area would get more (and better) resources than other areas of the company.

It was not quite a bet the company bet. However, we would pay the consequences of if the CEO was wrong.

The bet turned out to be the right bet. Not only did we become one of the dominant players in this new market, but we held our own in the existing markets too.

The company’s stock price continued soaring for the next several years.

Why did the CEO make this bet?

• He had data showing the market was growing, and…
• He had evidence we were going to be successful because we already had products in this market that were doing well, and…
• He knew we had the talent to execute in this market area, and…
• He knew we could continue recruiting more talent.

Now, what should you do?

My advice is get as much data as you can about both opportunities.

Then you’re going to have a make a calculated bet on whether to abandon your initial plan and pursue this new opportunity.

I’ve been fortunate in my career to work primarily in an industry (Analog ICs) where no one idea can make or break a company. In other words, you have to be consistently allocating resources to new projects.

There are times when you will stop the development of an existing project to start another project. And I certainly remember doing that.

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