The magic of a two-year waitlist

The Decware triode amp is the best low-power stereo amp I’ve ever heard. And it’s a bargain. If you have the right speakers, it’s an extraordinary device.

And there’s a two-year waitlist. 2000 people, 11 pages long.

This approach to timing and production serves all the people that matter to the company.

Employees are free to do their best work without rushing.

The operation is able to be right-sized instead of more-sized.

The risks are reduced, since the infinite loop of expansion is almost always followed by the doom loop of contraction.

Would-be customers who are impatient can go elsewhere or even buy a used one.

And the folks who are upgrading to this final, ultimate purchase of equipment discover that the value of the transaction goes up commensurate with how long they have to wait. In a world built on instant convenience, perhaps this is something worth waiting for.

Most MBAs would tell Steve to raise prices, ramp up production, automate, outsource and maximize profits.

But perhaps the resilient and generative approach is precisely the right choice. The hard parts are: 1. making something people are willing to wait for, and 2. having the guts and commitment to make them wait.

Pick your customers, pick your future. And often, entrepreneurs forget that they don’t work for Milton Friedman. We can choose the work we do and the value we create, and we can decide what better looks like.