Our bodies change entirely every five years, approximately part of our natural physical growth, while other human body elements grow faster or slower than the rest of the body. Our human nature and life are all about development and embracing changes continuously.

By Emile Fakhoury
I would define it like the human body, five years on average, our cycle for growth from one role to another vertically or horizontally, sometimes inside the organization.

I have acquired and developed through the years my growth rules; These rules would vary from one organization to another but remain consistent and similar in general.

You may select or perfect one of these rules over the others, which would be expected and natural for your growth. I can assure you that it will always return a positive impact over the efforts and investment you will make.

From recent McKenzie’s research project on growth rules, several growth rules can be explored, and I have added additional insights from my personal experiences.

1-Put competitive advantage first:

It will especially work well for newcomers or joined; start by focusing on your strength and what differentiate you in the workplace to make quick vital wins. This will boost your image inside your organization and build strong trust connections with your peers and leadership team.

Start by learning your organization’s objective and what matters most, and try to align it with your competitive advantage to boost your presence and competitiveness.

2-Make the trend your friend:

If you are in sales or operation, work toward obtaining reliable data to achieve profitable results. Review and study the trends from your customer to positively impact the client and organization and put all your efforts for short and long terms to grow for winning.

3-Do not be a laggard:

It is not enough to go with the flow; you must outgrow your peers and competition. What makes your organization choose you for promotion should feel trivial when you deliver the goals and objectives. Sitting idle or putting in your hard work and expecting advancement or growth is not enough; you should understand and align with your organization’s objectives and plans, work smart and deliver to make selecting you a trivial decision.

4-Turbocharge your core:

Focus on what you control the most: your strength. Don’t waste time and effort on competing with others but keep developing your weakness while you sharpen your substantial advantages. This is such an essential rule as it helps achieve visible success.

5-Look beyond the core:

It would help if you focused on growing in adjacent areas for the long term as you achieve your short-term goals and build your successful image inside the organization. Stepping up from your comfort zone and looking beyond for new areas will enhance your network and experiences and help you grow horizontally inside the organization.

6-Be a local hero:

Connect strongly with your local CEO or Director and build strong connections and trusolidhin your organization. Work to understand the rules of the game of the regional office by attending meetings and actively listening to ideas and conversations that matter.  

7-Go global if you can beat local:

Expand to other areas or globally to develop and transfer your experiences and knowledge.

Being mobile makes you available to support organizational growth and expansion and gain tremendous professional and cultural advantages.

It is about your mindset and being in harmony with yourself and the surrounding environment, both naturally and organically. I would focus on one of these rules each quarter and push my limits to excel in it and capture its results and impact on myself and the organization.

Keep challenging yourself and stretching your skills by practicing and learning from your work, the people around you, and the environment. Reading new articles and blogs will boost your thinking and bring new ideas to grow.