HEROS’ UNTOLD WAR STORIES
Approximately half of all startups do not survive beyond five years. That is one of the harsh realities of entrepreneurship. It is the half upon which many people don’t like to focus. Most people want to focus just on the success stories. Certainly, those are important too. However, they do not always consist of purely peaches and cream.
Inc. just published its annual listing of America’s 500 fastest-growing private companies. In reflecting on the significance of a company achieving a place on this list, Leigh Buchanan reminds us that this success never comes easy. In fact, in some cases, that success may have pivoted on one thin dime that made the difference between success and failure (“Inc. 500” September 2016, pp. 20–34):
“ The Inc. 500 seem like the invincible inverse of those roughly 50 percent of startups that, famously, don’t survive their first five years. But these companies aren’t so different. No, they didn’t die. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t almost die. ” (p. 27)
The next time that you are admiring the outward beauty of a successful organization, remind yourself that there are very likely some untold war stories. If not for them, some of those companies would not be there to admire.
