The Inc. 500 is out. There is actually an expanded Inc. 5,000, and here are links to lists of the companies included in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and even little Delaware. The Deloitte Fast 50 came out about two weeks ago. There are separate Fast 50's for Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey. I haven't been able to find those complete lists online yet, but when I do I will post them as well. (Actually, I just went back and looked and found that New Jersey now seems to be available, but Philadelphia still is not.) The Philadelphia 100 should be out in a couple of months.
So this is the time that everybody starts to crank out those press releases, saying how high they rank on one list or another. And they should. I do not mean to belittle those accomplishments at all. There are many outstanding companies included in these rankings that will have very successful futures. My issue with each of these lists is that despite their qualifying criteria they are all driven by sheer percentage of revenue growth, which is often off a very small base. And that's problematic to me, considering that there are so many ways to buy or generate additional revenues.
One big contract can produce phenomenal growth for a very small company, but may not be a good indicator of future success. A rapid but poorly planned string of acquisitions can get you on one of these lists, yet end up in disaster. And it is generally a lot easier to find ways to ramp up revenues quickly in very low margin, low value-added business than it is in higher margin busineses.
So that's the end of my lecture. These rankings can be useful, and they are better than nothing. But use them with care.
