Small Beginnings

When my wife, Kelly, and I bought our first home we were given some great advice - plant trees. The advice came from a guy who had moved into a home and five years later had wished they had shade in their back yard. They started planting trees, but it was too late. They soon thereafter had to move for a job transfer. Imagine if they had planted a few trees in their first week. They would have had at least a couple of years of shade. 

We have taken this example to heart, not only in our homes, but in our businesses as well. It’s about small beginnings. We have chosen not to despise them, but rather enjoy them.

Here is a personal example…

After we acquired Maximum Impact and moved to Atlanta, we immediately started building out our basement in order to have a place for guests. We also started working on small things around our house (a treehouse for the kids, furniture for our back deck, a garden in our backyard). All of these little things took time. Now after almost three years in Atlanta we are so glad we committed to the small things in addition to the big things in our first few months. We have now had years to appreciate and enjoy them.

The same can be said in our organizations, especially over the past year. Too many leaders have given up on the small things because they are looking for the “home run” initiatives to find large amounts of cash. Small beginnings have been overlooked or ignored in the process. Yet, it is the small beginnings that bring life to organizations years later.

What are you doing that is a small beginning? Where are the future areas of growth that need to be started today?

Here are some examples of small beginnings:

• Investing in your leaders - Starting “Lunch and Learns.” Having leaders in your home for dinner. Investing in their personal dreams.
• Starting alliances - Serving companies you want to connect with long-term. Starting conversations for future opportunity.
• Connecting with your family - Take your kids on one-on-one outings. Write letters and leave them in hidden places.

I hope you get the idea. Do the small things now that will bloom into great things in the future. Invest in little things and watch them turn into great things down the road.

Posted on October 27, 2009 in Leader Development