Recently I was lucky enough to hear a well respected business man speak at a local event. Over the course of 5 years the organization he led grew by 2,000%. Over the following 5 years they were able to grow by another 200%. He and his team did this in the face of more adversity than imaginable. It would have been very easy for them to have given up at any time or to not have believed it was possible to grow by even a small fraction. However, they focused on the positive and started innovating and adding the best people to the team, while slowly overcoming their existing challenges. Sure they had more challenges along the way, but each day they became stronger and were better equipped to handle them.
There are many pollutants that can jeopordize growth, such as: people with I/we can’t attitudes; competitors practicing bad business ethics; factors within a current industry; polictical agendas; teams settling into comfort zones; a sense of entitlement; etc. At the end of the day these are all just excuses. Whether it is individually or organizationally, there is always growth potential and the ability to grow is always present. We must not let others or outside factors infect our perception regarding growth opportunities.
There is always a smarter way, a better path to winning, a better direction to take, a better way to accomplish a task, and even a better way to lead. What we have to do is stay positive, block out the noise, and continue moving forward. Be innovation, believe, and surround ourselves with like minded individuals. There is no work environment more fun and exciting than one of a growing organization, where everyone plays a part in the day to day progress. As long as we keep our perception healthy and improve our teams by adding others that feel the same way about growth and progress, it can and will happen consistently.
Devoted to Leadership 