𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲

Occasionally, a solitary failure can be disastrous. I first heard the idea of a “𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞” in DevOps where a single node breaking in an area without redundancy can shut down the whole system.

In startups, most single points of failure are obvious – product doesn’t work, lack of fit in the market, and weak leadership are some examples.

However, another single point of failure is deceptive - the one client which propels the company into success.

If the largest client is responsible for an outsized portion of revenues, that's a liability.

If you have a particular client growing in revenues, it’s tempting to cheer, but you must 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

In this case, and in fact any time things seem to be going well, push yourself to ask these questions:

"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚?" and

"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠?"

Embrace success but also question what could happen next. Many failure stories include wonderful accomplishment along the way.

Photo by Bryson Hammer who can be found here: https://bit.ly/3szaMzy