Why Big Change Is Often Easier Than Incremental Progress
Incremental change isn’t always easier.
That’s the default thinking, isn’t it?
Make progress, a little bit at a time. It’s the least disruptive. It’s the simplest to achieve.
The problem: that way of thinking isn’t always accurate.
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There’s this math concept you might have learned in high school that relates.
Imagine a room that’s 10 feet across. Your goal is to get from one side of the room to the other.
The catch: you can only cross half the distance each time you move.
The first move is huge: 5 feet! Amazing progress.
The next move is half of that. 2.5 feet, not too shabby.
You’re now 2.5 feet away from the goal.
Half the distance, and now you’ve traveled another 1.25.
Victory is within reach.
But wait a minute—on your next move, you can only travel less than a foot.
And then half of that distance. And half again.
You’re getting closer, but, as the story is meant to illustrate: you’ll never, ever get where you’re going.
You’ll never, ever get where you’re going.
(If you’re wondering, I believe this story demonstrates the concept of asymptotes)
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We inadvertently do this to ourselves as business owners.
We set goals and make incremental progress toward them.
But we don’t ever get where we’re going.
It’s because we aren’t thinking big enough.
The perfect example is your 3 Year Objectives.
For many companies, especially those who are not dialed into their bigger vision, it’s difficult to create a goal like a North Star, which is usually 10 (or maybe 5) years into the future.
The default is to focus on their goals for the next 3 years.
And don’t get me wrong—those goals are important! You should achieve them!
But unless 3 years from now, you plan to sell your business, you won’t be done.
The 3 Year Objectives are supposed to be milestones (big, important ones) on the way to achieving something even bigger and more important.
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Let’s say that today, you’re a $2M company. You want to be a $10M company in 10 years.
Your 3 Year Objectives have a revenue target of $4M.
Many people would focus exclusively on that $4M number. They’d staff a $4M company, they’d add tech for a $4M company, they’d build processes for a $4M company.
Do you see the issue yet?
You’re not building a $4M company. That’s a milestone on the way to building a $10M company.
You may need to make different investments or build different infrastructure, make different hires to get where you’re ultimately going.
I’m not saying to spend like a $10M business when you only have $4M in the bank.
But I’m not saying not to, either.
It’s nuanced. But there are certain decisions you will make differently when you keep your long-term objective in mind.
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If you have ambitious growth goals (and many of our clients do), you can’t keep using the same playbook. You’ll need a new strategy, and to do that, you have to think much, much bigger.
Feel like you’re setting big targets but playing too small? Set up time with one of our consultants to see how we can help.
