Andrew
Hunt for Greatness
Milton Kamwendo
If you are not growing, you are dying.
Living organisms and institutions learn and adapt; they grow in strength and form; they build relationships within and outside themselves; and they are able to govern their growth and evolution. Never be satisfied with remaining at the same spot. Keep stretching and growing, horizontally and vertically. No turbulence can stop the expression of the life force.
Following a market survey on the growth of organisations published in August 2022, consulting firm McKinsey & Company proffered some rules of value-creating growth, which I have listed below.
- Put competitive advantage first: Start with a winning, scalable formula.
- Make the trend your friend: Prioritise profitable, fast-growing markets.
- Do not be a laggard: It is not enough to go with the flow; you need to outgrow your peers.
- Turbocharge your core: Focus on growth in your core industry; you cannot win without it.
- Look beyond the core: Nurture growth in adjacent business areas.
- Grow where you know: Focus on growing where you have an ownership advantage.
- Be a local hero: Commit to winning on the home front.
- Go global if you can beat local. Expand internationally if you have a transferable advantage.
- Acquire programmatically: Combine healthy organic growth with serial acquisitions.
- It is OK to shrink to grow: Ruthlessly prune your portfolio if you need to.
These rules are important for any organisation seeking growth. What then happens with individuals? How does one prompt and sustain growth? One way would be to simplify your journey of greatness and take just one step forward. Sometimes it is the one step that you need to fly.
What is holding you back from being the best you can be? You are usually one step away from greatness. There is this one skill that could be transformative if you master it. Be determined to overcome this one thing that is standing between you and your next station.
With your current capacity and skill set, you may have done well in the past. However, if you do not improve, you start to die. Identify what is stopping you from moving ahead. Look beyond your ego, and focus on your need for results.
What do you need to learn or unlearn? Master this one new competence and your level of productivity will soar. You will always plateau at the current level of output and competence until you learn something that you do not currently know.
The universe of knowledge defies ultimate mastery because knowledge keeps growing and things keep changing. Yesterday’s skills could easily be tomorrow’s liability. In times of massive change, massive learning is a critical call.
You are usually one idea away from greatness. To become great, you do not necessarily need a universe of ideas. However, you need to generate as many ideas as possible, and one of them carries gold on its wings and diamonds on its beak. Always carry with you something that you can use to capture ideas.
If an idea is not captured, it could fly away and look for another nest. Ideas are fragile. Those who know their value never waste them.
Journalling gives you space to think and reflect. It allows you to both introspect and extrospect. A journal of whatever kind is a powerful growth bank and idea store. As you read, capture ideas. Make time to reflect on the things you read and how they apply to your context. Use your mind for what it is intended to be — a thinking machine.
We exist in a community of ecosystems. There is no one who can ever be self-sufficient in every respect. Inter-dependence is what keeps life ticking. We all exist in interdependent relationships. In the universe of relationships and connections, you are usually one person away from greatness. There is a person who, when you meet him or her, catapults you to new levels and opens amazing doors and possibilities for you.
Honour people and pay attention. Be alert and welcome people into your space. People carry gifts for you. They can be in the form of wisdom, knowledge, ideas, insights, energy and charisma that you need.
Every person is a gift bearer and that one person you need will show up, at times in the most unlikely ways and seasons. People inspire others. Take note of the people who inspire you, and keep connected to them. Mute the voices of those who water down your strength.
Not every book that you pick up will change your life, thoughts and trajectory. However, there is a book which, when you pick it up, you know it was written for you and for that moment. Keep searching for that one book, then another. This is why I love reading. I know that between me and my next level of greatness, there is a book, new knowledge and information.
Read widely and you will come across the book you need. Read often and the book you once ignored will reappear. Talk to other book lovers and they will light your path to new books. Keep searching for new ideas, keep knocking and keep asking.
We are not creatures of discipline, but habit. Some habits are empowering and others disempower. You create your habits. The habits will, in turn, create your life and destiny. Develop good and empowering habits, because they are the staircase to your greatness. Habits automate your progress towards greatness.
You will always find that you are one habit away from your new level of greatness. To take your life in a new direction, form a new habit. To form a new habit, do something consistently for at least 30 to 40 days. Your habits are either holding you hostage or moving you to new levels of possibility and greatness.
Conduct a position audit and look at the fears that haunt you. What is the one fear that has immobilised you in the past?
Do not let fear stop you. Face it head-on. Take bold action.
Committed to your greatness
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and virtual, hybrid and in-person workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. He can be reached at: [email protected] and his website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com
Online Reporter