Are You Really After Major Growth Leaps? (In plural)
S-Curve Tail Optimization is Ruining Businesses
Take a look at this S Curve. Look familiar?
On which point of the S-Curve are you or your team at the moment on your current main objective? Do you even know? Have you thought about it? Do you know what is your main objective right now?
Many mature businesses have taken — even multiple — growth leaps during their history. Most of the time and effort is spent working on tails of these growth leaps with much lower payoff. Oftentimes these leaps are done by individual teams in silos within organizations for a very specific purpose. Once the team or even an individual has reached near-plateau state (right side beyond x2 point in the graph) it typically keeps on developing the same objective without realizing it has reached a point where the gradient (the angle of the slope) of the payoff is already decreasing instead of spreading the knowledge across the organization.
Organizations tend to encourage this by developing things in silos set by financial structures or historical burden of the company. There are no incentives to distribute knowhow outside your own domain or in some cases bonuses and standard practices may even discourage this! We at Fourkind believe that many highly skilled specialists are too acclimated to being on the tail-end of the S-Curve. Many have never experienced major growth leap. Some may even think it’s not possible in their line of business.
If you are not certain that you are on the verge of steep growth gradient — or in it — with your goals and ambitions, you should probably rethink your focus and objectives. There are always major leaps available, sometimes with new emergent technologies or organizational changes.
Oftentimes all the knowledge and knowhow for the next huge leap is already inside your company. Instead of looking for next completely new way of taking the leap maybe try duplicating leaps already taken elsewhere within your organization.
If you can relate to some or even all of the examples I’ve stated above you can start by getting your basics on the right track:
- First of all, encourage dissenting, even conflicting views within your organizations.
- Make decision based on data. And at least try to be honest.
- Clarify your goals and actively look for growth leaps. Split these goals into smaller measurable metrics and rigorously evaluate your development.
- Put your ambitions higher. Look outside of your comfort zone.
Change is difficult and sometimes painful, but status quo is worse. It will eventually ruin your business. Don’t be afraid of conflict. Ideas argue, not people.
