CEO Paul Bishop and President Lyle Camblos On Growth 2018 and Beyond
February 20, 2018Each quarter, ARG CEO Paul Bishop and President Lyle Camblos will share their thoughts and responses concerning relevant company and industry issues. This segment's topic is growth.
How do you define growth at ARG?
Lyle: “Looking from the operations point of view, sustained increases in revenue are clear indicators of growth. And leading that growth has been a substantial increase in the size of our team.”
Paul: “I would add that growth is also the ARG maturation process. We are continually getting more sophisticated in terms of how we work. As examples, automation and tools like Kanban certainly enhance our efficiency. Another part of our growth has been the drive towards more advanced services.”
More advanced services?
Paul: “Our partners are very happy with the work we are doing, so we ask ourselves if we could be doing even more. Are we helping in regulatory and strategy? We want to engage in additional problem-solving-- to collaborate with our partners to put the overall plan together.”
Lyle: “Agreed. And we have the people, processes, and technology for advanced services.
Is there an orchestrated effort on your part to control growth?
Lyle: “It is no secret that our company has doubled its size in the past two years. And as a group we embraced the challenge and excitement that goes along with that. But regardless of growth, the quality of our work is paramount, and we also need to make sure our team isn’t overly stretched. We are all on this journey together.”
Paul: “We run highly effective studies. We have a great message. The numbers will speak for themselves at the end of the year. If a projects continue to be managed well and customers are happy, you are going to grow. Moving forward, part of growth involves better aligning ARG with projects suited for our team.”
Please explain…
Lyle: “It continues to be a progression. We are finding our place in the market with the goal of thinking about how every project meets our strategic objectives.”
Paul: “Exactly. Part of rapid growth has been for ARG to be flexible and unique. And those will always be our qualities, regardless of our size. But because we have continually proved ourselves, we have earned the privilege of being increasingly selective.”
Is the growth driven at the corporate level, at the functional level, individual level, or some other way?
Lyle: “On all levels, but driven at the functional level as we add services. As examples, Stats and QA were grown from within. The exciting part is that when we add functions, individuals gain opportunities here at ARG, and the company as a whole expands. ”
Paul: “Lyle is right. A combination. We want to bring in talented people into the industry. We also want to be conscious of the point at which the scales tip and we need to add a new function. And at the corporate level, how do we bolt on in Western or Eastern Europe. In South America?”
Europe and South America? That sounds like growth!
Paul: “Yes, we are open to acquiring an entity abroad if the strategic opportunity is just right.”
Lyle: “We won’t force something that is not the ideal fit. Stay tuned.”
(Photo by Jungwoo Hong)
