You Don’t Really Want To Grow
Well, you got past the title, so maybe you do. Although I am told time after time that a person or a company is “interested in growth,” growth isn’t an “interest” or a passing fancy; you either want to or you don’t. Therefore, you either will or you won’t.
I am sure a lot of you are trying to tell yourself that you DO and you WILL. I don’t believe you! I don’t feel the commitment! I hear words, but I don’t see actions.
Growth requires more than just statements and ideas. Powerful statements and great ideas of growth like “If I only had $100,000…” or “I am going to do this someday…” are just words, which will only pile up forever if you don’t take action. If your growth strategy is waiting for a magic moment or a fairy godmother to come along, then, good luck!
One buzzard said to another buzzard, “To Hell with this waitin’ for somethin’ to die, let’s go kill somethin’!”
Do you see why I don’t believe you? I speak to literally hundreds of people a month who tell me they want more. When I ask them what more is, about 80% of them trip and fall right there. They have no idea what success even looks like, but they claim they want it! Even though they couldn’t pick growth out of a lineup, they claim to be “driving towards excellence.”
Most of you are probably thinking, “I’m not in that 80%! I know what more is!” Even if you do, of the remaining 20%, only about 5% have any sort of actual growth plan. When I say “plan,” I mean more than a few ideas – I mean a written, formal plan that is a living document mapping out all aspects of your business development from prospecting to fulfillment to human capital. Every member of your organization should not only understand this plan but also hold him or herself accountable.
A business plan is a road map that takes into account where bottlenecks will occur and what happens when they do. The plan becomes the basis for the company’s growth. If you believe you have this, show me. Show me, don’t tell me. At the very least, show your team – make sure they see the complete and current plan so that you can validate your beliefs and work together towards that elusive “growth.”
“If you ain’t the lead dog, the view never changes.” ~ Lewis Grizzard
I hear the “I am doing my best” chatter from the crowd. That is simply not good enough. At some point, YOU can’t do any more; that is the problem. YOU are very good and work very hard, however, YOU can only push yourself so hard and YOU shouldn’t have to run yourself into the ground. All that is standing in the way of achieving your real potential is YOU. YOU need to take action and admit YOU need help. YOU need to put your ego aside and admit YOU don’t know everything. The tremendous amount of potential that can be unleashed once YOU take this step is staggering. So it is up to YOU to make it happen, then I will believe YOU.
