Four-letter words you might want to use a little less often (part 2)

Written by: Brad Pedersen

So if “more” and “next” are potentially four letter words that can translate into driving us to become founders who pursue growth at all costs, then what is the better approach? How about 3 other words that can help buffer us from being undisciplined in our pursuit of more: People. Health. Limits.

People

The people in our life (e.g. company, family, accountability group) will often know before we do when growth has become uncontrolled or undisciplined. To be more blunt, the people suffering from our undisciplined pursuits will feel it long before we do. Paying attention to the feedback from the people around you – the ones you truly admire and deeply trust – is so important. Inviting feedback and questions from them and listening to their concerns is one of the surest ways to know if “more” and “next” are out of control. 

Health

What if the thing we’re better off pursuing even more than growth, is health? I have 3 teenage sons. When they were first given to us as God’s gifts, our job wasn’t to decide how tall and heavy they would be. That’s growth which was not in our control. Our job was to create a healthy environment so they could grow into whatever they would be - physically, mentally, emotionally, vocationally, relationally, spiritually. So we engaged in the practices of health: food, sleep, relational connection, friendships, education, character, faith community, exercise. Where they go/grow in life is up to God and them. Sounds obvious when it comes to human beings. But why wouldn’t it apply to the ventures, companies and communities we lead? These things don’t usually collapse because of a lack of growth, but due to a lack of health. And health starts with the senior leader. So what does it mean to pursue health? You could start by asking yourself that question (and you can keep reading this newsletter over the coming weeks. Spoiler alert: health will be one of the underlying themes).

Limits 

In business school, corporate life, and even in my home growing up, obstacles were meant to be overcome. Problems were meant to be solved. Weaknesses were meant to be strengthened. But what if limits (i.e. setbacks, closed doors, failures or misses) were, at times, a gift? An antidote to uncontrolled growth? A chance to rethink our goals or to ask ourselves questions we don’t normally ask when everything is growing? A God-given or purely circumstantial gift you didn’t ask for? Limits are often in place to serve you, to redirect you in seeking a different path. Rather than quickly trying to solve a problem, ask yourself “is there something to be learned by this limitation and possibly a better path?”.

Whether you’ve achieved the growth you always dreamed of or are still chasing what seems like perpetually elusive success, take 5 minutes (now, if you can) and ask yourself: 

“Which of these three words is most important for me to consider?” People. Health. Limits.

Perhaps using less four-letter words, and considering these words instead, could lead to some really productive conversations…with yourself, with the people around you, with your Creator.