When Brendan and I started ATX in 2013, we had a vision for filling what we perceived to be a critical need in the marketplace - a business-focused technology consultancy that allowed emerging middle market companies to compete with larger industry peers.
As we reflect back on the past 10 years, we will be sharing insights learned along each year of our journey. This post is part four of a ten post blog series highlighting lessons learned each year at ATX.
2016 – The Importance of Depth
While breadth exposed us to new opportunities we also faced difficulty gaining the traction we wanted for scale.
2016 brought us to our first trade show, the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) convention in Orlando. We attended with our first - but now long term client - The BP Group, to celebrate winning the Kent award for management innovation - which was presented by Shaquille O'Neal!
We had partnered with The BP Group to develop a process management tool called PIPES that served as an online procedures manual helping to train employees, standardize business processes, and manage task accountability. PIPES resulted from the combination of our technical know-how, construction industry experience, process improvement skills, and our wide knowledge of BP’s operations from years of project work.
The breadth that led to PIPES also legitimized us as process and technology experts for mechanical contractors. There was a lot of interest in the PIPES work which opened up doors to many clients with similar needs. As we did more work with other mechanical contractors, we rolled deeper into industry needs and trends which provided more value to our existing and future clients. Our depth was years in the making but once we got there, things really seemed to snowball. Marketing efforts were more concentrated and targeted. Referrals were more plentiful and we were able to tell a better story about the value we provided.
Breadth:Knowledge as Depth:Experience
Depth requires years of experience, focus, and discipline. Breadth requires wide knowledge, agility, and curiosity. This left us unicorn hunting if we needed all new hires to have both but we started to realize that a well-rounded team was a powerful combination.
When we think about depth as this relates to our team, we categorize this expertise into three buckets … industry, hard skills (product knowledge, languages), and project type (strategy, implementation, analytics). We now focus on developing T-shaped and ideally M-shaped people that allow us to form strong teams with complimentary skills. Breadth allows us to be good problem solvers, translating our experience from one situation to another, while depth provides valuable experience, context, and domain knowledge.
I recently had the opportunity to hear Daniel Lubetzky (founder of Kind Bars) speak about how a brand is a promise and a great brand is a promise well kept. One of our brand promises at ATX is relevant expertise, something every client should expect from our team and something we could not offer without depth.
Cheers,
Mark
Check out the other entries in this series below: