Overall, Meyer is optimistic. He thinks he can pull it off—he can keep adding to the company without losing the soul. Yet he finds himself in that position only because he resisted the pressures to expand in the early years before he was prepared to handle the challenge without sacrificing the soul. By saying no, he kept his options open and preserved his ability to choose how far and how fast to grow. And therein lies another lesson: If you want to have the choice, you have to fight for it. All successful businesses face enormous pressures to grow, and they come from everywhere—customers,
...more