When it comes to running a company, rapid growth is, of course, generally considered to be a good thing. But when growth far surpasses expectations, maintaining company culture is challenging for even the most seasoned leaders. “In the past two years alone, growth has been more than triple what we budgeted for,” says Dr. Alan Ulsifer, founder and CEO of FYidoctors, a network of eye care and medical aesthetics clinics.
Ulsifer says that throughout its acquisition history, no formerly independent company has ever asked to undo a deal. But even friendly consolidation isn’t without its hurdles. “Many consolidations go wrong as a result of a breach of trust. You haven’t delivered what you said you would,” says Ulsifer. “It’s important to be honest about what you bring to the table, and about what may not go well, because there’s no such thing as a perfect integration.
At a town hall at the company’s annual general meeting, one of the company’s best-known clinic leaders stood up at an open mic session to complain about the negative impact the shift had on his business. Instead of getting defensive, Ulsifer empathized—and then invited the doctor and his team on a tour of the new manufacturing facility. “I said, I want to show you in person what went wrong, and then show you exactly how we’re going to fix it.
Well this explains why it took 2 months for new lenses last year. Perhaps they should also master the art of retaining staff. My local FYI has entirely new young staff every 6 months and it's a learning curve every time.