Now that the video is available on YouTube, I thought I would share it with all of you.

The post TEDx Talk: Imagining a Better World appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

The Foxhole

I once worked with a high school basketball team. At the beginning of the season, the coach named one of his players team captain. The coach later revealed to me that he chose the team captain based on the boy’s character and leadership potential.

About a month later, after weeks of intense practice preparing for the upcoming season, the coach led his team through an exercise called “The Foxhole.” It is an exercise that I encourage all teams to execute.

The Foxhole is based off of military jargon. In trench warfare, members of the same team would dig a hole dubbed a “foxhole.” The team would live in the foxhole, eating, sleeping, and fighting together. There was no world outside of the foxhole. The men inside that hole lived and died as one. They became closer than brothers and literally trusted each other with their lives.

The Foxhole exercise run by this coach was for each member of the team to imagine they were in battle and dug into a foxhole. In their foxhole would be three other members of their team. In this exercise, each team member had to choose three teammates to accompany them in that foxhole.

The coach had his team take ten minutes to think about their answers without speaking to anyone. Then, when the time was up, he had them write their foxholes down and submit them.

On a team of a dozen kids, there were a dozen different combinations of foxholes. There was, however, one similarity in each of the foxholes: every single member of that team included their team captain in their foxhole.

The coach later told me that it was at that moment, when he saw this, that he realized that he had made the right choice in team captain. In a life-or-death situation, each member of his team wanted their team captain at their back.

Leadership is about your team knowing that you have their back.

What trust looks like

If things are ever going to go sideways, a team needs to trust that their leader is going to have their back. That’s the kind of trust that leadership requires.

I have talked to many people about leadership, and one of the complaints I hear far too often is that people don’t trust their leaders to have their backs. They see their leaders as middlemen rather than leaders. These are the managers who will throw their team under the bus in order to curry favour with the CEO. These are the principals who will ignore the complaints of their teachers because they only care about input from their Board of Trustees. That does not garner trust. That is not leadership.

So how do you build that kind of trust? I have a few suggestions for you.

Trust requires:

1. Building caring relationships

Stop and think for a moment about the people in your foxhole. This is a great exercise that you should do in-depth, but for now just quickly think about the top three to five people who would be in your foxhole. Got them? Great. Now, what do they all have in common?

If you are like most people, the people in your foxhole all share one important characteristic: they are people who care about you and your well-being.

This seems obvious, but it is important to building trust.

We trust people who care about us.

If you build a positive relationship and that other person knows that you actually care about their well-being, they will want you in their foxhole. And that is a leadership win.

2. Practicing competency

Go back and think about the people who are in your foxhole. I bet you didn’t choose people who are incompetent. We don’t trust incompetent people. Think about it. If your neck is on the line, you want to be able to trust someone who knows what they’re doing.

If you want people to trust you, they need to trust your ability.

3. Demonstrating integrity

Think about your foxhole again. These are the people who you trust with your life. Are any of them particularly untrustworthy? Probably not. You trust them because they have demonstrated in the past that they are trustworthy.

In other words, we naturally trust people who demonstrate that they are trustworthy. Again, it seems obvious, but it’s easy to forget. If you want people to trust you, walk in integrity. That means doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking.

Dynamic lessons

In short, if you want people to trust you, you have to prove that you are worthy of their trust.

We looked at three ways you can earn your team’s trust:

1. Building caring relationships. People will naturally trust people who demonstrate that they care about them, so build trust by showing that you care.
2. Practicing competency. You don’t have to be the best at everything that you do, but if you want people to trust you, you have to demonstrate that you know what you’re doing.
3. Demonstrate integrity. People are usually pretty good judges of character. So do the right thing, even when no one is looking. Then, when people are looking, they’ll see someone who is trustworthy.

What are your thoughts on building trust in the workplace. How do you build trust?

Books that influenced this article:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell

Leadership is an Art by Max De Pree

The post Lessons from a Foxhole: The Importance of Trust in Leadership appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

Risk-takers are the ones who change the world.

It was April 9, 1917 – Easter Monday, right in the middle of the First World War. The Germans were entrenched in their position in northern France on the high ground known as Vimy Ridge. From this strategic position near the Belgian border, the Germans had successfully repelled numerous attacks by Allied forces.

Over the previous two weeks, the Germans had been bombarded by Allied artillery. They knew that the Canadians and the British were planning another full-scale assault – the planned assault had been revealed by a Canadian defector to the British – they just didn’t know when. Or how.

Unbeknownst to the Germans, in the early hours of that fateful Easter Monday morning, the combined forces of four Canadian army divisions and one British division were about to emerge from underground tunnels and launch their assault on the German position.

The plan was one of the most audacious strategies employed to date in early-20th century warfare. It involved months of training for the specific conditions of Vimy Ridge, weeks of artillery barrages, months of underground tunnelling, and all to attack an enemy that already knew an attack was coming.

From it’s very beginning, this was a risky plan. Not only were the Canadians tasked with taking over a heavily-fortified enemy position, but their own allies had tried and failed at the same mission TWICE. In order for the Canadians to pull this mission off,  not only would they have to achieve something their allies could not, but they would also have to come up with a plan just crazy enough that it might even work.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge lasted for four long, bloody, gruelling days. And by the time the sun set on April 12, 1917, the Canadians had forced the Germans from their final positions and taken Vimy Ridge.

This story is of particular importance to Canadians because this battle, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, is widely accepted as the “birth of a nation”, or Canada’s “coming-of-age”. This battle was the first time that multiple Canadian military divisions operated in a war theatre under the leadership of a Canadian commanding officer, Lieutenant General Sir Julian Byng.

I tell this story for two reasons. First, April 9, 2017, was just celebrated across Canada and by Canadians around the world, because it marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge – the birth of the Canadian nation. I had the honour of laying a wreath and laying my respects on behalf of the Government of Canada at my local memorial, and it was humbling to be a part of such a sombre yet significant moment. The second reason I share this story is because it illustrates perfectly the value and techniques of effective risk-takers.

In this post I want to use this story and other information to demonstrate that risk-takers can change the world, but to do so they need three things: an audacious vision, meticulous preparation, and an irrepressible flexibility.

Risk-Takers Can Change the World

World change doesn’t happen by accident.

If changing the world – through any of the private, public, non-profit, or education sectors – was easy, everyone would do it. But the fact is that there are very few people who have a lasting, world-altering legacy. And those people are risk-takers.

Think about it. If you live a comfortable life and take no risks, you will spend your life in the comfortable cushion you’ve created for yourself. And there is nothing wrong with that! If you have no desire to make a lasting impact on the world around you, then by all means, enjoy your comfortable life. But if you want to leave far-reaching legacy, you will need to take risks.

For many people, the legacy they leave is their family. I fully support this, because I think there is no greater legacy to leave behind than our relationships, especially with family. But guess what: having a family is a risk in and of itself. Having kids is a risk, because you don’t know what the outcome will be. Entering into a long-term relationship with someone is a risk, because you can’t predict the future.

Whether you want to start a family, a revolutionary business model, or a political campaign to exact social justice, you will have to take risks to accomplish your goals.

Everything worth doing will come with some level of risk. The question is where do you want to go and how much are you willing to risk to get there?

Audacious Vision

A leader is someone who can inspire a vision in their team.

In the case of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, that leader was Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, and that vision was the taking of a strategic German stronghold in the face of overwhelming odds.

When you dare to dream wild enough to take a big risk, there has to be something inside of you that WANTS to succeed. That desire to succeed has to be stronger than the fear of failure. That’s where vision comes into play.

Whether you have a team of followers or not, if you want to be an effective risk-taker, you need to have an audacious vision.

Developing a vision can be a difficult task, but it is critical to success. Your overarching vision will guide your planning and help you execute each step towards success.

If you want to know more about learning how to create and share a vision, you can check out my blogpost on inspiring vision. You should also check out my workbook on developing a personal vision for your life, as there are many tools and strategies there that can help you.

Meticulous Preparation

The Battle of Vimy Ridge took four long, arduous days. But, if you have read Sun Tzu in his classic, The Art of War, then you understand that the outcome of the battle was decided long before the first shot was fired.

The Allies had spent months preparing for their assault on the German stronghold. Their strategists had been compiling all the information they had on the enemy positions, their experiences from previous (failed) attempts at taking the ridge, and the strengths and weaknesses of not only the German divisions but of their own as well.

The battle is won in the preparation.

Once the Allies came up with an attack plan, they then practiced it, over and over again. Let me remind you that this was 1917. Military maneuvers had just evolved from standing in a straight line and shooting at each other until one side surrendered to lining soldiers up in a trench and swapping canisters of mustard gas. Training for and practicing specific, strategic military maneuvers was a radical idea.

When you’re taking a risk, no innovation is too radical.

The execution of the plan was so important to the Allied soldiers that they practiced that execution as often and as thoroughly as they could. They knew that without the proper execution, all the preparation in the world would be useless.

Once you have a strategic plan in mind – and you should take the time to create a thorough plan – you need to make sure that you (or your team) has the ability to follow-through with the execution.

Once a plan is put into motion, there are so many variables that can directly affect you. There is only so much that you can predict. That is why practicing the execution is so important, because you need to know that you can execute your plan without even thinking about it. It should be second nature, a knee-jerk reaction, instinct.

If you have meticulously prepared by developing a detailed plan and practiced its execution, it doesn’t matter if there are bullets whizzing by your head or competing businesses nipping at your heels, you will be able to fight your way through, sticking to the plan the whole way.

Irrepressible Flexibility

The strategic plans for the Canadian-led assault on Vimy Ridge predicted that the German stronghold would fall largely into Canadian hands by early-afternoon on the first day. Instead, what followed was four days of some of the most horrific fighting conditions ever known to man.

The Germans provided a stronger resistance than the Canadians expected, and the trench warfare was fierce. This was World War One, remember, when chemical weapons were still widely used and soldiers advanced from trenches only to be mown down by machine guns. This was as close to hell on Earth as you could get.

The first thing that will keep you going under such circumstances is, as we discussed earlier, an audacious vision.

During the times when you are faced with your bell on earth, your vision is what will sustain your perseverance.

But vision alone is not enough to win a war. You need to be flexible.

When night fell on the first night and the Canadian plan had anticipated a victory by this point, it would be very tempting for the Allied soldiers, whose lives were miserable, to turn around and say “better luck next time.” But that is not a risk-taker’s response.

Risk-takers recognize that when things don’t go as planned, the plan has to change.

Rather than retreating when the strategy’s timeline was not met, the Canadians pressed their advantage. They continued to bring the fight to the Germans for three whole days before finally taking the ridge.

In other words, the Allied forces were flexible. Their plans had to change, but they pursued their goal against all opposition.

No matter how detailed your plans are, things will still go NOT according to plan. You need to be flexible and adapt to change. I wrote an entire blog post on adapting to change. You should probably read it.

Dynamic Lessons

I am going to end this post the same way I started it, by stating a simple truth: risk-takers are the ones who change the world. Risk-taking is a dangerous business, but it is necessary to reach long-term success.

In order to be an effective risk-taker, you must make sure you follow these three steps:

1. Create an audacious vision. Risk-taking is audacious in and of itself, and to make it work you need to be daring and create an audacious vision that will guide you through the ups and downs.
2. Carry out meticulous planning. Once you put your plan into action, real-life happens and you will face tons of differing variables. Do yourself a favour and make sure your plan is detailed enough to survive.
3. Maintain irrepressible flexibility. Things will not go your way. For all your meticulous planning, things will still happen that your plan did not account for. You need to be flexible and be able to roll with the punches.

Are you ready to be a risk-taker? I’m excited for you! Let me know in the comments section what kinds of risks you’re taking and how you’re planning for them! Or post it on social media and tag me (@kylewierks on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, Great North Dynamics on Facebook). I’ll make sure to comment!

This post was inspired by a TEDx Talk I gave recently (the Saturday before I wrote this, in fact). The talk I gave was about the importance of imagination and creativity in a world that prioritizes realism over imagination, and I spoke about the importance of creativity in risk-taking. It was recorded and will be posted online (I’ll keep you posted on that).

Creating Your Personal Vision

Check out You Can’t Reach What You Can’t See: Developing a Personal Vision for Your Life. This workbook will help you create a vision that will guide your career planning.

Books that influenced this article:

The Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris

$100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

The post Risk-Takers: What History Can Teach Us About World-Change appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

On Thursday, April 6, 2017, I will be releasing You Can’t Reach What You Can’t See: Developing a Personal Vision for Your Life.

This workbook combines goal-setting with developing an overarching vision for your life. Whatever your goal in life may be, this workbook can help you reach it by guiding you through the critical steps of identifying your passions, setting goals, and putting in place realistic action steps to achieve your goals.

Make sure you sign up for email updates so you can be the first to get the workbook!

The post Goal-Setting Workbook: Two Days to the Release! appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

16,573 people gathered in Reunion Arena to watch the contest, and the excitement was palpable. Everyone wanted to see a show, and they were about to see the greatest show ten feet off the ground.

The lineup for the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest was an assortment of some of the best athletes in the NBA at that time. Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks was the clear favourite to win that year. He had won the 1985 Contest and was a star of the NBA. Nicknamed “the Human Highlight Reel”, Wilkins was six feet, eight inches of sheer athleticism.

The rest of the lineup for that night included Roy Hinson, Jerome Kersey, Paul Pressey, Terence Stansbury, Terry Tyler, Spud Webb, Gerald Wilkins, and Orlando Woolridge (who was injured and could not actually participate in the contest). Here is a list of each athlete and their height:

• Roy Hinson: 6’9″
• Jerome Kersey: 6’7″
• Paul Pressey: 6’5″
• Terence Stansbury: 6’5″
• Terry Tyler: 6’7″
• Spud Webb: 5’7″
• Dominique Wilkins: 6’8″
• Gerald Wilkins: 6’6″
• Orlando Woolridge: 6’9″

When you read that list, you probably think that there is a typo. There isn’t. Spud Webb was five feet, seven inches, a full ten inches shorter than the next shortest competitor, and 13 inches shorter than his teammate, Dominique Wilkins. What in the world was he doing there?

It turns out that Spud Webb, while short (especially by NBA standards where the average player height in 1986 was 6’7″), had a huge jump. By huge, I mean his vertical leap was measured at 46 inches. To put that in perspective, the average vertical leap for a male today is 16-20 inches; anything over 28 inches is considered excellent. In NBA history, the best vertical leap recorded belongs to Wilt Chamberlain and Darrell Griffith at 48 inches. Right behind them, in a five-way tie, are Michael Jordan, Zach LaVine, Jason Richardson, James White, and Spud Webb.

So Spud Webb may be short, but he had one of the best vertical leaps in NBA history (or, if you believe the rumours that he could actually jump as high as 50 inches, he had the highest vertical leap in the NBA). This comparably short man was competing with literal giants.

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest of 1986 was comprised of three rounds: a first round, a semifinal, and a final. Since Dominique Wilkins was the clear favourite and defending champion, he was given a bye for the first round and moved directly into the semifinal. The rest of the contestants had three dunks to perform. Each dunk was worth up to 50 points, and the points were combined to give a final score. The top three scores would move up to the semifinal to join Dominique Wilkins. The semifinal would be the same: three dunks worth up to 50 points each, and the two highest totals would move on to the finals.

Before the first round, all eight competitors warmed up on the court as 16,573 spectators looked on. The spectators knew they were about to watch the proverbial David take on seven Goliaths, and they loved it. What made it even better was that their David (Spud Webb) was a local boy. That’s right: Spud Webb was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and it was here that he would make his Slam Dunk Contest debut.

At the end of the first round, Spud Webb (who, let’s remember, is about an average of a foot shorter than his opponents), finishes with the top score and easily moves to the semifinals. Also advancing are Gerald Wilkins and Terence Stansbury. Webb’s teammate, Dominique Wilkins, who didn’t dunk in the first round, is waiting for them.

The second round gets interesting. On his first dunk of the round, Webb scores a perfect 50, the first perfect score of the night. His next two dunks are still spectacular, but not perfect, and Webb ends up tying his teammate, Dominique Wilkins, for the top spot with 138 points apiece. Both Atlanta Hawks players advance to the final round.

By now the crowd is going crazy. Their unlikely hometown hero just made it to the final round of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and not only is he the shortest player in the NBA at the time (Muggsy Bogues at 5’3″ would be drafted in 1987 to become the shortest NBA player of all-time), but he is also a rookie. The crowd loves him. America loves him.

The final round of the Slam Dunk Contest allows contestants two dunks instead of three, and the points are combined for a total score out of 100. Spud Webb goes first. The crowd chants his name over and over. And he gets his second 50 point dunk of the night.

Dominique Wilkins goes next. The reigning champ shows why he is the best and scores a perfect 50 of his own, tying the two up with one dunk left to go. Then Webb turns into a monster and scores his second straight 50. The crowd can barely contain themselves, and the announcers are shocked. Finally, Wilkins comes up for his final dunk. If he scores a 50, he sends the contest into a sudden death “dunk-off”. He performs his dunk and the crowd waits with bated breath. The score comes up on the screen: 48. Spud Webb has won.

Spud Webb remains the shortest person to have won the dunk contest (and the shortest person to compete in the contest), and he did it in his rookie year. Three years later (after two wins by Michael Jordan in a row), in 1989, Webb returned to the Slam Dunk Contest for the first time, where he finished third. That was the last time he competed in the Slam Dunk Contest. But that doesn’t really matter. Because for one day, Spud Webb didn’t just live like a giant, he became a giant.

Dynamic Lessons

While Spud Webb may have literally lived like a giant, the lessons we can learn from him are far more important than basketball.

1. The only person who has to believe in you is you. Nobody who was watching the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest actually expected Spud Webb to beat Dominique Wilkins. Even Wilkins, who was Webb’s teammate, had never seen Webb dunk. But that didn’t matter, because Webb knew what he could do.
2. You don’t have to be a giant to live like one. In this world, you will be faced with plenty of reasons why you can’t be a giant. You might not have the connections, the resources, the capital, the opportunity, or the time to become a giant in your industry. So don’t try to be a giant. You can’t change who you are. But you can change who you become. Take that leap and live like a giant. Fake it. By the time anyone notices you don’t belong, you’ll already be making a name for yourself.

Has there been a time when you lived like a giant and it paid off for you? What about when it didn’t? Take some time and tell us a story in the comments!

Books that influenced this article:

The Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

The post Case Study: Spud Webb and Living Like a Giant appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

As we prepare for the official TEDxChilliwack event (at which I will be speaking), I thought I would share my four-minute audition with you. So, without further delay, here it is.

Deprioritization of Creativity and Imagination

Good evening, everyone. My name is Kyle Wierks. I am talking to you tonight about something that is very important to me: fostering imagination in young people.

Fostering imagination and creativity is a hugely important topic, and one that is very important to me, especially as it concerns the shaping of the minds of future generations.

Not only am I a millennial, but I also run my own leadership blog called “Great North Dynamics,” and I have self-published three works of fiction over the last 18 months. In my day job, I work for a local public figure, but I have also spent the last eight years volunteering in a youth mentorship program working with teenagers and young adults.

There are many ways to measure the priority given to imagination and creativity, but one factor that I want to highlight tonight is public spending on the arts. The National Endowment for the Arts is an American government organization that funds arts programs. In 1980, the National Endowment had a budget of just over $154 million. In 2017 dollars, that’s almost half a billion dollars. The Endowment’s budget for 2017 is less than $150 million. That is a 70% decrease over 37 years.

There is much more to imagination and creativity than public spending on the arts, but this is a crucial indicator in the habitual deprioritization of imagination and creativity over the last 30+ years. This is a huge problem. Why? Because at the same time that the US has been deprioritizing imagination, the American business environment has been deteriorating.

Since 1980, the National Endowment for the Arts has seen its funding levels drop by 70%. Over that same period of time, according the US Census Bureau, the number of new businesses started in the USA has dropped by 50%. Even more troubling is that 86% of all new businesses started in the USA today are started by people aged 36 and up.

I do not think that it is a coincidence that while America has deprioritized creativity as a society, fewer businesses are being started and fewer millennials – MY GENERATION – are becoming entrepreneurs.

I want to shape the minds of our future generation to be thought leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, community leaders. And I firmly believe that the way to do that is to foster imagination in them at a young age. This is what I hope to bring to TEDxChilliwack. Thank you.

Books that influenced this article:

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson

The post The Deprioritization of Creativity and Imagination in North America appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

This is a learning curve for all of us, so please bear with me as I finalize the tweaks and adjustments.

I guess the lesson for this week is that sometimes you need to put routine on hold to finish something important.

Thank you for your patience!

The post Vision Workbook Update appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

I think it goes without saying that leadership is hard, but there is so much more to leadership than that.

Being a leader involves much more than leading other people; it requires a lifestyle that, quite frankly, does not fit everyone.

That is not to say that we should discourage people from becoming better leaders, but our leaders should know what leadership has in store for them.  This post will describe just four of the difficulties faced by leaders.

1. Leaders are lonely.

It’s lonely at the top of the pyramid.  Now, most leaders are not all the way at the top of their organizations or not even necessarily in a position of leadership (more about this in an upcoming post), but they are at the top of their respective pools.

People are naturally attracted to leaders, but tend to congregate with their peers.

In other words, leaders are normally well-liked and respected, but are rarely invited to social gatherings outside of the workplace.  If you are taking on a leadership role, be prepared to suffer for it socially.  And you need to be okay with that.

2. Leaders are responsible.

When things go wrong, you are the one who has to answer for it. Regardless of whether you are actually responsible for an outcome, you must take responsibility for whatever happens under your watch.  If your team is held to a strict deadline, it is your responsibility to make sure that it is met.  If someone on your team drops the ball, it is up to you to fix it.  I cannot tell you the number of times I have had to do extra work to make up for someone else’s mistake in order to ensure a project is finished on time.

3. Leaders go first.

This seems obvious, but leaders lead. That means that leaders go first.

That means that leaders have to get their hands dirty.

Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company or the manager at your local gas station, you cannot ask your employees to stay late to work overtime on a project if you have not already cancelled your dinner plans. Though being the first one in the door in the morning and the last one to leave at night may seem simple enough, bear in mind that leadership is not just about showing up, it is about working your butt off.

Leadership is 90% perspiration.

4. Leaders rarely receive recognition.

If you want a career in the spotlight, leadership is not for you.  Sure, there are some leaders who are publicly recognized.  Steve Jobs comes to mind, or Tim Cook, the past and current CEOs of Apple Inc.  But what about Phillip W. Schiller?  Ever heard of him?  He is the marketing director at Apple Inc., and the man behind the public image that is Apple.  So, if you have an iPhone or iPad or iWatch or iPod, your product’s packaging, display, and branding were all designed by a team under Schiller’s leadership.  Almost everyone in North America has experienced the branding power of Schiller’s team, but most have never heard of him.

Leaders rarely receive recognition, even from the very people whose lives they affect.

Dynamic lessons

After reading all this, there is a very simple conclusion: nobody should ever want to be a leader.  This is, however, the wrong conclusion.  What you should take away from this is that leadership is sacrificial.  You will not just have to work hard and give up your time; you will have to make sacrifices that might seem like too much. But if leadership was easy, everyone would do it.

Leadership is not about the easy way; it’s about doing it the right way. You will never attain your leadership goals if you aren’t ready to make sacrifices.

What kinds of sacrifices have you made to be a leader? Are they worth it?

Books that influenced this article:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell

The post Leadership Difficulties: Four Reasons Not to Be a Leader appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

Sometimes the most important thing an organization can do is stop trying to grow.

Orgnanizational growth is an important part of almost any organization, but sometimes trying to grow can be more detrimental than it’s worth. Here’s why.

Growth for Growth’s Sake

When in doubt, leaders start throwing around buzzwords and hope something sticks; “growth” is one of those words. How do we overcome stagnation? We grow. How do we build our brand? We grow. How do we reach more customers? We grow.

Sure, these all seem like natural progressions. After all, how do you improve your business without growth? Well, sometimes growth for growth’s sake is not only going to cause financial strain, it could undermine your organization.

From the Ground Up

I’m not usually one for metaphors, but this one just works. Imagine a huge tree in your backyard. The tree is massive, and it took years for it to grow. What is the key to the tree’s success? The answer is not that it grew quickly, or even that it grew tall. The key to the success of that tree is the underground root system.

Much like a tree, your organization’s success in the outside world – whether that is business, government, non-profit, or otherwise – is first and foremost dependent upon the internal structure.

If a tree grows too high without the proper root structure, it will be coming over in the first big wind storm. In the same way, if your organization grows so fast that its internal structure can’t keep up, you won’t be able to support it when you run into problems – and trust me, you will run into problems.

Building Something Great

Too many leaders/organizations are scared to take their foot off the gas pedal in case they are run over by the competition. This mindset says that if we aren’t growing, we are stagnating, and our competitors will take over. But here is the problem with that:

Growth is not the only indicator of success.

At no point am I suggesting that you try to prevent growth; I’m saying that maybe you shouldn’t be focusing on growth. First make sure that you have the internal structure to support growth. Sometimes you will need to reorganize your organizational chart, or shift responsibilities to allow people to take on projects that fit their expertise.

Second, you have to make sure that you have something worth growing. If you are selling a product, you’d better make sure that your product is the best that it can be. If you provide a service, your customer satisfaction better be through the roof. If you are in government or politics, you’d better make sure that your support base is fully behind you. In short, sometimes you need to focus more on the products/clients you already have before you should even think about expanding.

Growing Up

Eventually, it will be time for you and your organization to focus on growth. You have an internal structure that will support growth, you have a product/service that you are proud of, and your team is excited to move to the next stage. If you do all of this right, the first sign that it’s time to start focusing on growth will be that your organization has started growing without you even trying.

New customers are lining up outside your doors, your employees are coming up with new and innovative ideas for your organization, your support numbers are steadily on the rise, or whatever your indicator of growth may be. When you have something worth growing, it will start growing on its own. That’s when you know it’s time to start focusing your efforts on growth.

Dynamic Lessons

Growing for growth’s sake can actually do more harm to your organization than good. In order to sustain growth, an organization must have the internal structure to support growth, as well as a product/service that deserves to grow.

When a leader pushes the pause button and focuses on SUPPORTING growth, it will put that organization in a position to SUSTAIN growth at a later date.

Have you ever had to push the pause button on growth in order to improve what already exists? Or have you had different experiences with growth, either positive or negative? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!

The post Why You Need to Stop Focusing on Organizational Growth appeared first on Great North Dynamics.

Oh the Thinks You Can Think, by Dr. Seuss.

Here’s a picture of the cover (you can click it for a link):

In the spirit of full disclosure I should tell you that this is technically my daughter’s book (though I bought it for her). The reading level is pretty accessible, so if you can read what I’m writing, chances are you can demolish this book in about two minutes, tops.

I will admit, as far as books go, this one is not exactly what you might call intellectual. You might even call it simplistic. However, the message of this Dr. Seuss hardcover is an important one:

Your imagination is your greatest asset.

I write about both creativity and leadership because they go hand-in-hand when it comes to success, and even though imagination seems like a strictly creative concept, it is equally important for leadership. 21st century leaders have to think outside the box. Creativity wins the day.

In Oh the Thinks You Can Think, Dr. Seuss tells us that we can create, improve, and discover so much if we just let our imagination run free. It’s a great lesson for children, but even more valuable for adults. We get so caught up in the “normalcy” that surrounds us that we find it hard to let our imaginations run wild.

The first step to building something new is first imagining it.

Dynamic lessons

To quote the book itself, “Oh, the thinks you can think up, if only you try.” Thinking is a powerful thing, and by using your imagination every day, you can build your creativity. It doesn’t have to be thinking up fictitious desserts, like Dr. Seuss does in the book (unless you’re a baker and that’s your thing), but allowing yourself to think outside the box is vital to your success as a leader and a creative.

One of the things I use to build my creativity is I keep a journal of creative ideas. These ideas will rarely ever see the light of day, but I keep track of my creative musings for the simple reason that it helps exercise my creativity.

What are some creative exercises you use to get your brain working?

Books that influenced this article:

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson

Oh the Thinks You Can Think by Dr. Seuss

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