We must be doing something right with Customers, as we can’t keep our servers from crashing.

1. Understand that some of the new explorations will fail. That does not mean you shouldn’t keep trying. More can be learned from failure than from success.

2. When you do identify a new product / direction, don’t make the mistake of betting the farm on that offering. Make sure your existing customers remain happy with you and continue to be serviced properly — do not pull valuable resources away from customer care / sales support, otherwise you run the risk of impacting your current revenue stream.

3. Don’t put too much stock in what the analysts are saying, e.g., “You’ve got to develop a product in this area because it’s the wave of the future! Everyone else is doing it and you’ll be left behind!” Keep in mind that the purpose of gathering a herd is to drive them to slaughter. Unfortunately your board and other investors can often be unduly influenced by the analysts and their herd instinct, and it can be a challenge to stand up to them.