How To Achieve Long-Term Business Growth

Have you noticed how fast everything is?

Food is fast. Coffee is fast. Our meals are fast. We drive fast. Packages are delivered fast. We’re in a hurry. We’re always available, and we want everything to be as fast as it can be for our convenience.

It seems that the more things we can get quickly, the less patient we are for the things that really matter.

Relationships, making a difference, loving people, having steady growth, moving forward toward your goal, and being consistent with both the big and small things.

These are just some of the things that matter, and when it comes to being a business leader, we must remember that long-term growth is better than short-term gain.

This is a mind game that business leaders must navigate because the temptation is to grab short-term gain and potentially miss out on long-term growth.

Here’s what the scripture teaches about this:

“Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.”

Proverbs‬ ‭13:11‬

“Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich. A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.”

Proverbs‬ ‭10:4-5‬

Notice how long-term growth comes from hard work, consistency over time, and diligence to know when to move and what to do.

This is the wisdom of God, and for us as business leaders, we must lead toward long-term growth.

Short-term gain is a trick because it appeals to achieving a lot with:

• Little effort 
• Short cuts
• Not learning new things
• Not working hard 
• Not being consistent

This never works out, and eventually, the short-term gain will be done with nothing to show for it.

Long-term growth is empowering us to have more with:

• Wise effort 
• Patience 
• Learning new things
• Working hard and smart
• Being consistent 

This produces personal growth in business, which is massive because we can’t go to where we’re not willing to grow. Long-term growth requires personal change and personal development.

So, how do we stay focused on long-term growth?

First, we have our WHY. This means we know why we’re doing business. We know why we’re a leader, and we know why we’re doing what we’re doing. 

When we know our why, the short-term gain is a distraction to where we’re going. It’s a waste of time because our why fuels our purpose and gives us a narrow focus on why we’re doing it.

We want to be everything or do everything. However, our why gives us clarity on what we should be doing and then how we do it.

The WHY is a big deal and it should go far beyond making money. That’s hollow. Money follows purpose. Money follows passion. Money follows hard work, with a goal that helps others.

Mark Twain said it this way about the WHY.

“The two greatest days of your life are, the day you were born and the day you discover why.”

What’s your WHY?

God has something great for you, let him lead you, and it will be amazing.

Second, we work a plan. God works through rhythms and plans. He created the earth that way and everything we see in nature is moving in a rhythm. 

As business leaders, God has a plan that will give us rhythm. When we operate in this, we are empowered to be consistent, focused, and have clear goals. We cannot lead ourselves or others on a roller coaster because that’s not sustainable. 

What we can do is lead through a plan that gives a rhythm for longer-term growth from consistency.

Do you have a plan with your why?

God has the how for your WHY. Reach out and ask him, he’ll give it to you.

Now, it’s inevitable that we will have to adjust our plan and the way we do things. This is especially true because knowledge is growing so much that business leaders must adapt to new methods and ways of working effectively. But this doesn’t mean that we lead on a roller coaster, changing day to day with no consistency. It means we adapt and grow as we learn new things working a plan in a rhythm for long-term growth.

The scripture says that riches or long-term growth come from hard work over time.

This is what we want because this is what lasts!

We don’t want to be one-hit wonders that blow in and blow out within moments of time. We want to be consistent lasting for generations making a difference in our lifetime and beyond.

Life is too short to settle for short-term gain. As business leaders, we must reach for long-term growth, and in the process leave a legacy that moves forward into the generations after us.

This is what a great leader does and this is what a great leader can do. Impacting those in their lifetime and those beyond.

Lead like it matters. Be consistent and stay the course. Long-term growth is better than short-term gain.

God is with you and the best is yet to come,

PD