It's only natural to look for shortcuts, especially when you are on your first venture. You constantly search for easier ways to make your company grow faster, and sometimes you'll find them. Unfortunately, they almost always come back to haunt you.

I speak here as someone who has tried just about every shortcut in the book -- like hiring salespeople from competitors and promoting employees just because they are available. It finally dawned on me that my shortcuts were serving only to prolong the process of building the great company I wanted. Why was I in such a hurry, anyway?