A Plea for Growth… the Right Growth

“Grow or die!” This is a common phrase used by many consultants to motivate or manipulate audiences. Yet, most of us would agree with this phrase in a business context.

The question that confronts me is, “Grow what?” Your first impression of growth might be “revenue” growth. While revenue generation is vitally important to all organizations, we would like to expand your vision of growth, specifically as it affects the leader, your team and your company.

How does a leader grow? What is the best way to raise the capacity and capabilities of your team? What can a company do to effectively grow its business? How do you execute and measure these results effectively?

So my question again is, “Grow what?” The short answer is YOU! Growth is a process of maturing and developing. It is an increase in value or strength. When you grow, it affects multiple relationships, processes and organizations. It is a matter of being the right person. Growth affects the individual (you), your goals and your motivations. I have watched organizations succeed and fail on this principle. While I think “Grow or Regress” can be overdramatic, I do believe, “Grow or Shrink” is more appropriate. I have watched hundreds of CEOs and companies regress by not focusing on the growth of the individual.

The fundamental reason for this regression or atrophy is that growth is painful. Growing muscles requires weight training. Growing your team requires time. Growing a marriage requires selflessness. Simply put, growing always requires something. It requires you to give more of yourself to others. It requires you to be willing to learn at all ages. It requires you to want the best for other people. It requires you to learn to lead yourself first. Growth requires action, and most of the time that action is painful to the natural way of operating, leading or communicating.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe once said, “Everybody wants to be somebody, but nobody wants to grow.”

To grow as a leader, you must discover your blind spots, enhance your strengths and exercise your mind and actions for better things.

To grow as a team, you must throw away blame, work for a greater cause and celebrate victories and positive accountability.

To grow as a company, you must find your true north, map your future and plan and implement it strategically and consistently.

Are you willing to stretch yourself beyond what you have known to experience and beyond what you desire? I dare say if you are not willing, then you will miss out on tremendous opportunities for yourself, you r relationships and your organization.

Growth begins with YOU. Grow.

Posted on June 11, 2008 in Business Growth