The Growth Curve Model & How It Can Work for Your Business

When it comes to change, many times we think it’s instant.

Unfortunately, it’s not.

It takes a little bit of time, and it takes a lot of courage to keep moving forward—yet the best leadership teams understand this. As an EOS implementer, I work with entrepreneurial leadership teams to drive them through a process of positive change.

The Growth Curve Model shows how and where your team is on the path to mastery. It actually explains how we develop any skill! Check out my video blog below for a full explanation of the model and its stages.

Want to chat about your leadership team’s progress? Give me a call at 215-593-7235!

Beginning With the End in Mind: 3 Steps for Leadership Teams

To some people, being a backward thinker means having a limited view of the world. When I work with leadership teams, I like to challenge them to think of a different kind of backward thinking.

Stephen Covey said to “Begin with the End in Mind” in his bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

There are three steps to beginning with the end in mind, and I’d like to share them with you and explain each one.
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The Answer to Greater Leadership and Employee Productivity

OK, I’m sick and tired of listening to CEO’s complain about the Millennial generation’s lack of work ethic. Enough!

You know the litany – the younger generation’s neediness, their lack of loyalty, their lack of “people skills,” and of course, their propensity for frequent job change.

“I don’t want to be their friend; I want to be their boss. Just do the [expletive deleted] work!” a frustrated CEO exclaimed at one of my leadership workshops.

“Wow,” I thought to myself, “No wonder this guy is struggling. I’d hate to work for him, too!”

Driving home after the presentation, I wondered what was missing that made the recruiting and retention of millennials so frustrating. Then, I recalled a conversation I had with my 21-year-old son as we discussed his future job opportunities. There was wisdom there for me.

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Confessions from a Recovering Visionary to Visionaries Worldwide

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a recovering Visionary.

You know the type – lots of big ideas, always inventing something new, a little light on the focusing, heavy on the creating, worried about the company culture, and incredibly impatient.

Visionaries can clearly see a future. Our problem is that we keep changing it! In a recent blog post, I outlined several non-productive behaviors that have afflicted struggling Visionaries like me. They got in the way of my success as a leader. They frustrated my team and staff. If you’re a Visionary, perhaps you share some of these behaviors with me.

Luckily for you, they’re completely reversible! I labeled the 3 Struggling Visionary Syndromes (SVS):

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The Best Team Building Activity Ever (And a Story of the Worst)

As a leader of a small business, you’re likely to be aware of the current obsession with “team building activities.” Be careful. Be very careful. These exercises are designed to improve team trust and collaborating, but sometimes the activities are quite physically strenuous, which comes with a risk of unintended consequences. A team building exercise that goes wrong can leave the team feeling defeated, yielding embarrassment and resentment—the exact opposite of what you want to achieve. In this post, I’ll share a cautionary tale of one such team building exercise and then tell you a much better way to foster team building.

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Are You a Struggling Visionary ... or Work for One? This Blog’s for You!

For years it’s been clear that every great business needs a talented, intuitive, visionary leader. Such leaders “see beyond the river’s bend” into the future. They see what others cannot. Imagine working for a visionary like Thomas Edison who inspired his workers to “make electric light so cheap that only the wealthy can afford to burn candles.” Never satisfied with the status quo, visionaries are compelled to take risks and follow their own path. That’s what Steve Jobs meant when he exclaimed, “It’s better to be a pirate than to join the Navy.”

Yet, being an impactful visionary demands delicate mastery. They must exquisitely balance innovation with execution and tomorrow’s dream with today’s results. Sadly, many hardworking visionaries struggle daily to find that balance. Despite their best intentions, outstanding results are not achieved, key employees suddenly quit, and promising projects fail. Unfortunately, most struggling visionaries simply redouble their efforts with little self-reflection. In working with their entrepreneurial leadership teams, I’m heartbroken to see these talented executives flounder in confusion and frustration. They so aspire to achieve their visionary’s dream. Yet, they’re so demotivated by that very leader. Ugh.

In a highly unscientific manner, I’ve compiled what I consider to be the top 3 fatal flaws of every struggling visionary. So, if you’re a struggling visionary, take a minute to glance in the mirror and do a “check up from the neck up.” Your team will be grateful. Here are the flaws:

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The Management Wisdom of my Crepe Myrtle…

We learn through our failures. Nowhere is this more apparent than in my garden. My beloved Crepe Myrtle has succumbed to a blistering attack of withering leaf mold. With loving care 4 years ago I planted it in a sunny, well-ventilated spot that was guaranteed to ensure long-term vitality. What happened? I happened.

As a gardener, I violated a fundamental truth – RPRS, Right Plant, Right Spot. Each plant has a unique and special place in the landscape. Too much sun causes leaf wilt. Too much fertilizer causes excessive leaf growth. Too much pruning yields a struggling plant. Soil condition, water, fertilization and placement are carefully orchestrated to ensure long-term vitality.

Sadly, my poor crepe myrtle was not RPRS – the right plant in the right space. The growing conditions changed over the years. My long-term placement was poor. Ancient beech tree only yards away slowly expanded and en-robed my beloved crepe in a cloak of deep, daylong shade. Weakened by its lack of sun, it became a host to a myriad of bugs and fungal infections. No matter how much fungicide and insecticide I used, the tree failed to thrive. So, what does this have to do with you?

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