As we travel down our path maybe we see some breakthroughs or successes in different areas. And each time, the nature of our journey can change.
While a lot of these changes can be welcome (it’s more fun to train for a marathon when you’ve developed the “habit” for it down the line), some of them can unexpectedly slow us down.
Here are a few ways that “growth” can hinder speed, innovation or forward motion.
- Boosts in status. If you do well in one area, you’ll likely see accolades. While this is great, it can also allow us to rest on our laurels.
- Increase in exposure. The scientist in the ivory tower talking to press each day isn’t in the lab. While neither is wrong, what’s the cost of this shift?
- Growth. As an organism grows, more energy needs to be allocated to driving internal processes. If we aren’t careful this can take energy away from prospecting, innovating and engaging with the outside environment.
- Lack of feedback. When the founder starts out with a green business idea, feedback is direct. Down the line, feedback mechanisms need to be consciously put in place.
- Social Media. You get bigger, you have more conversations open, you have more audience, there are more people to answer to. All of this comes to a head on social media, where the conversation never stops. Boundaries are a must to stay productive.
- Lack of Boundaries. All of the above generally add to the “load” on an individual. Boundaries become more and more important as we grow.
- Impatience. While hard work and action can drive growth, impatience and frustration can stagnate it. Growth may not be linear.
- Cognitive Load/Stress. Decision fatigue is real. An increase in cognitive load as we grow and take on new responsibilities can lead to an increase in stress and a drop in creative innovation.
- Path Dependence. As we see progress, it’s taken as a “good sign” that things are working. This usually creates path dependence where we rely on one way of doing things, this can slow us down if conditions change.
- Trends. Riding a trend is great. It can be a huge “assist” to an individual or a business. The problem is if we don’t see the trend, and/or if the trend changes and we aren’t clear on our true value.
- Too much capital. Innovation is typically easier and more effective if we have resources, but if we have too much, we can be blind to the holes in a leaky boat or high operating costs. When we are lean, there’s a natural tendency to maintain urgency and necessity and stay profitable.
