Plateaus are often beautiful in nature but they can be insidious in life. Which would you prefer for your life, business, or career, plateau or decline? In truth, plateau is a straw concept and decline in your growth or achievement is as close as the next unasked question.
Continued growth in the personal life, career, businesses, institutions, and societies are like intertwining sigmoid curves which do have dips along the way. As you approach the top of each curve you must ask excellent questions and act strategically in order to start the next curve, thus moving to the next level of growth.
Some allow their growth to reach the top of the curve. At the top, there is a point of “too late” and decline may be your lot, or at least a very difficult recovery.
You may say, “Well, I’m not anywhere near the top.” OK, now is the time to be planning for and starting the new curve. If you wait until you cross the top, your energy, time, and resources may be lacking to pursue the next curve. Start while there is still power in the first curve. This must happen over and over again for continued growth.
These questions can help you create the next curve:
- Where have you been?
You’ve worked very hard for some time with little result, but you are building. Remember how you had to push through this phase since it will visit again at the beginning of the next curve. Keep in mind:- What has worked really well?
- What has not worked really well?
- How will I know the next time of transition to the new level?
The time for transition is when things are moving quickly and appear to be going really well. Finding this place is counter-intuitive. It makes no sense to change something working so well. Some wait until the next point of intersection (Y) and this is a very difficult place to create a new curve. - What’s next?
Keep in mind that if you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same results that will keep you on the original curve. Ask: “How would I reinvent this, as if it never existed, from the current point of progress?” - What are my dream about the next level? Think outside the current box.
- What do I need to learn to move to the next level? Start now.
- How can I test some of my ideas about the next level now?
- What are the potential barriers to and in the next level?
- How open am I to change associated with the new curve?
- What support will I enlist to help me with the confusion and grief of letting go of the past and moving to the next level?
- How do I know if I did the best thing at the best time? Only 20/20 hindsight will tell.
In your spiritual, physical, social, emotional, intellectual growth; in your business and career, how can you begin to create the next curve?
What is your first step?
These are some of the questions I’ve been needing to ask…all in one place. I’m finding that I have had more energy as I consider adding another ministry to my plate for an interim period while a sister church is transitioning from one method of youth gatherings to an actual youth ministry. The freshness and ability to do something new (and teaching some) is good for me. Then again, I know that about myself and just don’t always make the time to figure out how to make that happen.
As for your question, I think what I need to do for my permanent ministry to begin a new curve is to slow down and rest personally so I can begin to think about what is going on and what is coming next. Second, I need to go back to my personal mission statement and my profile of a disciple and see how things line up or fall short. Then, I can start looking ahead with a better point of view.