Winning Moves: Living on the growth edge

December 31, 2009 • www.visionsmc.com • 410-849-8095

Editor's Note

When I was getting ready to go to college, a close friend and I were so excited about all the changes we were going to experience. We talked about how we were going to grow in the next year. After our freshman year, we realized we were going to change a lot the next year, too.

Ten years later, we were sitting in front of a woodstove in Vermont on a snowy New Year's Eve, talking about how much we'd grown the previous year. And almost ten years later, we're still having these discussions.

It gets a bit harder for most people to have tremendous year over year personal growth as we get older for several reasons. We're not experiencing as many external changes or challenges--our family and career situations often become routine. And we don't push ourselves proactively the way we might have when we were younger.

This year, I learned to truly drive a stick shift when I got the Mini. At a holiday party this month, I was talking to friends and they were laughing as they described how as teens or in college they were so nervous learning to drive a stick: heart pounding when they stopped at a red light on a hill, palms sweaty when they were in stop and go traffic, not being able to talk to passengers as they concentrated on when to downshift. They laughed even harder when they realized that those heart beating, palm sweating moments had just happened to me this past spring.

I also started a new business this past year when I was presented with an opportunity that seemed a no brainer. My Vision business was growing beautifully, but I really felt this was something I should take advantage of.

I've written before about the growth edge. Part of being on the growth edge is planning to grow intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. And part of it is being open to opportunities for growth that crop up in your path. That's how I got to experience the heart beating, palm sweating thrill of learning to drive the Mini, and the challenge of starting a second business. This has brought me not only a really fun car to drive and a second source of income but also a greater sense of self-confidence, and an opportunity to reconnect with a lot of friends.

Molly Hughes Wilmer

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Feature

Living on the Growth Edge

If you really want to grow your business, you need to continually ramp up what you offer. And the best way to be able to think out of the box about your business is to keep yourself living on the growth edge.

Planning to be on the Growth Edge

How did you grow last year? What are your biggest weaknesses that you want to tackle this year? What are you going to do to challenge yourself?

You could focus on relationships with friends, family, co-workers, vendors, or clients. One of my clients has learned to "rate" relationships from one to ten, with ten being your spouse. He has a lot below five, and wants to bring them up to sixes and sevens. More meaningful relationships will result in more positive business transactions, more referrals, more repeat business and, probably, a greater sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in the process.

You could focus on your health--your diet, your exercise, or your sleep. Better health is going to give you more energy and more clarity, which will help you approach each day better prepared to lead, inspire, create, be patient, learn and generate results.

You could focus on specific skill sets. Would being a better public speaker help your business? Would being a better listener help your business? Do you manage your time as well as you would like? Are you the best manager you can be?

You could focus on your self-confidence. Having fun learning how to box, or ride a horse, or scuba dive or run a marathon or doing something else completely outside your comfort zone can bring you confidence you can take back into the office.

Being Open to Being on the Growth Edge

In addition to planning to grow, be prepared to take risks. Don't always presuppose or assume that a certain solution is the best. Look for alternatives, and take risks. Be ready to follow a path where the outcome isn't assured. Being open to failing will lead you to greater success. Remember, regret is a useless emotion. Learn and move on!

Happy New Year! Here's to a year of tremendous personal and business growth for all of us.

What Can I Do?

It's very hard to be on the growth edge by yourself. Reach out to friends who are inspiring and challenging and living life to the fullest. Tap a colleague on the shoulder and ask them to mentor you. There are also people who are trained to help you--personal trainers, personal coaches, and skill-specific consultants and coaches.

Don't go it alone. Open up and reap the benefits.

Ask the Expert

Question
I'm too busy with work, especially in this economy, to take on these personal development projects.

Answer
Remember the old story about sharpening the saw? It takes a lot longer to cut down a tree with a dull saw. Stopping the sawing long enough to sharpen the saw will help you cut down the tree a lot faster in the end. Define your vision, your purpose, your goals, and spend time working to achieve them, not just running around on the hamster wheel. The most successful business people I know have the best work life balance. Shouldn't that tell us something?

Submit your questions to the editor: molly@visionsmc.com

Want to Know More?

Here are some resources that I've found helpful:
Seth Godin's Blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/ I scan it every day.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People I re-read it every few years.
The Goal A friend described it as "makes a lot of stuff massively simple". I use the concepts with clients a lot.
Million Dollar Consulting Fabulous for anyone in my industry, and for business owners as well.
Good to Great A classic.
You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar As a former Outward Bound instructor, I love this attitude.
The 5 Laws That Determine All of Life's Outcomes This is my newest, and I expect you'll be hearing more about it in future newsletters.

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