Essays by David Lovejoy
Field Notes
Decisions that shape a business.
Conversations with founders, operators, and investors, examined for what they reveal about pricing, leadership, growth, and ownership.
The collection
10 essaysThe Capital Obligation
Before accepting capital, agree what success looks like to the people providing it.
The Right Size
Growth changes the founder’s job. Decide whether the next stage is worth the trade.
The Cashflow Discipline
Service revenue can fund the next move, provided there is cash and capacity left after delivery.
The Acquisition Math
An existing business gives a buyer evidence to examine. The question is how much of its performance will survive the handover.
The Listening Premium
A useful conversation leaves room for information that changes your view.
The Effort Ceiling
When every increase in output requires more of the founder’s time, the way the work gets done needs attention.
The Underpricing Problem
A full pipeline can hide a price that has never been tested.
The Focus Discipline
A new opportunity deserves a clear answer about which existing work will give way.
The Letting Go Problem
Delegation works when another person can make the decision as well as do the work.
The Candor Premium
Useful feedback identifies the problem and gives someone a way to act on it.
Behind the notes
These essays draw on conversations for Horizon Search and Builders & Doers. Guests described decisions they made, what happened, and what they would do differently. Each note follows a particular question through those accounts.
The interviews supply the examples. The conclusions and questions are my own. These are accounts of individual businesses, rather than findings from a representative study.