Ever feel like your current environment is pretty good? Work isn't too hard. The business is doing OK. The bills are getting paid. No one is complaining. Tempted to just try to hang on to that good enough state?

As much as we might wish for it. There really is no status quo. No steady state. In simpler terms: if you are thinking you are steady, you're really falling behind.

Read on: blog.WednesdayWin.com​

Read time: 5 minutes

Coasting into success would be nice, but it's not a realistic strategy. Let's explore:

1. Bad news: Only two choices: getting better or getting worse

Simply, there's no way to stay even by doing nothing.

AI is accelerating the trend, but it's been true much longer. Knowledge and technological sophistication are expanding. Students are learning. Competitors are inventing new solutions, and information is more readily accessible.

These trends enable entirely new business models, but they also put pressure on existing business to move faster, do more, and run more efficiently.

Another way of looking at this (for the Physics lovers among us): entropy is always increasing. Nothing stays the same without the application of some energy.

You have to be working, trying, learning, and pressing ahead or else you'll be falling behind.

• There is no steady state
• Doing the same work will yield less over time
• Getting better does not necessarily mean working more hours, but it does mean that you have to adapt to changing conditions

2. Good news: Small improvements lead to Big gains

This all sounds exhausting. How about some bright spots?

What is required is often just some small improvements. A modest increase in your productivity, your focus, or your understanding of your field will have a massively positive compounding effect if you persist.

Sustained effort with small gains can be the difference maker.

There are many great ways to think about this:

• A 1% improvement each day would yield a 37+ times greater result over the course of a year
• That kind of advancement helps you protect against major shocks and challenges
• Gains in knowledge and productivity accelerate over time as you become more capable

3. What this means for your business

For your own business, the path to growth starts with an examination of your current products and services. What in your present set of solutions can be most easily improved to benefit your customers?

Former Intel CEO Andy Grove famously described this as the imperative to cannibalize your own business. If you aren't relentlessly replacing what you did yesterday with a better version today, someone else will step in and do that for you (or, well, to you).

As a leader, push for innovation even if it comes at the cost of investment or some of your current margin. Reward staff attempts at improvement and new business or product innovation.

Businesses with real longevity change over time--often dramatically. Launching entire new product lines and being willing to cut those that have fallen out of favor is the path of growth for the best managed companies.

Seemingly unassailable business are overtaken year after year. The list is long: Intel in chips, Alta Vista in search, GE in nearly everything it did 20 years ago...

• Never assume your margins or your segment share are secure
• Support innovation even when directed at your existing business
• Expect to evolve your focus over time

4. What this means for your career

For individuals, this urgency to learn and adapt is even more stark.

As I've shared before, AI is poised to fundamentally change large segments of the global economy and change how many jobs get done. Understanding how AI works and how you can integrate it into your specific role will at first set you apart from other candidates, but ultimately become the basic expectation for all before long.

AI is just the latest example, but the kind of creative destruction which emerges over time regularly shifts what knowledge is critical to success in any industry or line of business.

Take advantage of skill stacking to add more breadth to your capabilities and stay ahead of your professional competition.

• Both major and minor challenges in the economy and your specific business will demand new skills in response
• Learning new skills can keep you ahead of the changes
• Being a leader in adopting new technologies and techniques increases your strength as a candidate

Action Summary

Whether you are running your own business, a team, or your own career, the steady pursuit of greater knowledge, experience, and insights are critical for success.

• Choose your committed path (& no choice is a commitment of its own)
• Small improvements can compound into massive change
• Identify how to promote learning and innovation in your business
• Commit to learning new skills and strategies to apply in your career

There is no steady state: only growth or decline. So choose your path.

What do you think? Is there a third option to keep on keeping on? Reply to this email and let me know.

​

To your success,

Christopher

​

P.S. Like this one? You'll want to check out this earlier Wednesday Win essay on the power of a positive attitude, too.

​

---

Looking for a deeper dive on these topics? Connect here and reach out:

1. Connect and follow on Twitter/X: @cbell​
2. Connect and follow on LinkedIn: @cbell​

Like this newsletter? Please share the sign-up link with others. Thank you.

​

​

​