The Rocket

At the end of August 2013 I announced we were rolling the plane to the runway. It was a metaphor, of course, one that allowed me to depict the very important juncture our company was at. I wrote we had built the perfect engine and we attached it to a beautiful fuselage and we were about to start. And then after the V1 (the point of no return) I promised to make one more announcement.

My plan was to say our plane had no wings. Referring to the old proverb about taking a leap and building the wings on the way down. But I won't say this anymore.

The reason is, we still do not have wings, but our fuselage is in a vertical position. Yes, this is a rocket. The countdown has ended. And we have a liftoff!

This week the new product and the new strategy has been announced internally and all I can say literally everybody on board is absolutely enthusiastic about it. I am tempted as hell to unveil it publicly, but I simply cannot. It is still too early. Probably the most difficult secret to keep.

Our team already is the team of world champions. And even more world champions are joining us shortly. With the product, the strategy, the team and the environment I feel stronger than ever. The ride will be extremely rough (rockets are never smooth, after all) and I hope we won't have any failure.

Internal failure (read: we will make a mistake) is now something I worry about. The rocket metaphor fits very well to describe a company like ours. The product is right, the market is already huge and growing. Even competition shows up (which is a sign the market is really there). So should we worry? Absolutely yes. We should stay alert and pay attention to every sign of  a mishap or problem and prevent them. You are your biggest competitor. I will keep on repeating this every time somebody asks me about competition. After all what can stop a rocket that has already left a launch pad? Nothing, but an internal failure.

We have to focus now, as a team, and execute flawlessly. The stake is high. We've never been that high. We don't have a license to go there. But if you think about it, the Wright brothers did not have a license to fly either.