10 years of growth: 5 vital lessons learned at ConnectWise Automate

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." – Steve Jobs

With LabTech Software’s (now ConnectWise Automate®) 10th anniversary upon us, it’s easy to look back and admire how far we’ve come. Starting as a small startup, we’ve now been recognized as the only remote monitoring and management platform to be named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies for two consecutive years. This is certainly a great accomplishment; but in order to successfully move towards the future, we need to look back at what got us here.

Here are the top five things we’ve learned over the years and the dots we’ve connected to make our platform stronger for the future. We hope sharing these helps to accelerate the growth of your business in the same way they helped accelerate ours.

Hire the right people

Every company needs intelligent, passionate people to help it grow. The right people may not always have the most impressive certifications or advanced degrees. Remember, the right cultural fit is just as important as the right technical skill set. Look for the people who will invest in your company’s product and culture.

When it’s the right fit, you’ll know because these people will follow through on promises, build up new ideas and give their heart and soul. When colleagues need support, they’ll work extra hours and go above and beyond. In short, the right people not only enjoy their work, but pursue it with ferocity and pride, and encourage others to do the same.

Put mission and vision first

You can’t build an effective team without a strong mission and vision to lead them. Establish a mission and vision that are in sync with your company culture and don’t let anything compromise them. If you veer too far off track, your end goals become murky, as do the paths to them.

Institute core values

Institution doesn’t mean simply posting a list of corporate expectations. Companies must integrate core values into their culture so that colleagues, partners and the industry can see what drives the corporate mission and vision. The core values should fuel the people you’ve hired, inspiring them to carry your business from effective to innovative.

Build an integrated network

Once you’ve established who you are, what your goals are and how to represent them, it’s important to build a community for your clients and peers to thrive in. That community gives them the chance to communicate, develop ideas and grow the same way that you’ve grown your own company. The network that’s created will empower each company’s mission and vision.

Never stop improving

It’s easy to sit complacent after success. However, you can’t forget that product and service quality need constant monitoring and revision. The goal is to become an extraordinary provider of continuously improving products and services. You’ll only get there if you’re constantly considering your clients’ needs and keeping current with market changes. Act fast, stay flexible and avoid the status quo. Simply put, constantly reinvent your business.

With the help of these five tools, we hope your business can experience some of the same successes that we have. We’ll continue to pursue our 5 extraordinary obsessions in the next decade―after all, the last decade was only a great first step! Tune in next week for more.