Ep 472 | The Intriguing Balance Between Plateaus and Spurts of Progress

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. My mentor, mentor of mine, we've talked about quite a bit here at No Days Off, gentleman named Mac Newton. He had taught me, taught me so many different things, but, but one thing that he had shared with me that has left a lasting impact on the way that I view not just business but life has to do with this balance, this rather intriguing balance between plateaus and spurts of progress. Plateaus and spurts of progress. It's a gentleman named George Leonard that has a great quote around this, and I'm going to read it to you, then we're going to talk about it. George Leonard says that mastery is nothing but a series of plateaus with some spurts of progress. And he's— and, and I quote, he says, the most important lessons here, especially for young people, is that even if you're shooting for the stars, you're going to spend most of your time on a plateau. That's where the deepest, most lasting learning takes place, so you might as well enjoy it. When I was first learning, I just assumed that I would steadily improve. My first plateau was something of a shock and disappointment, but I persevered and finally experienced an apparent spurt of learning. The next time my outward progress stopped, I said to myself, "Oh damn, another plateau." After a few months, there was another spurt of progress, and then of course, the inevitable plateau. This time, something marvelous happened. I found myself thinking, "Oh boy, another plateau," Good. If I stay on it and keep practicing, I'm absolutely assured another surge of progress. It was one of the best and warmest moments of my life. I love that quote. I love that Mac Newton taught me this principle, but I love this George Leonard quote because the reality is that we are all going to have plateaus and those plateaus are likely to last far longer than the spurts of growth. Now, one interesting caveat, or one thing that Mack used to say, is, you know, you have this spurt of growth and you peak, and then you end up maybe even regressing and you plateau a bit. But then you have another spurt of growth and you may regress, but this time the new plateau is likely higher than your first peak. So it is a hell of a journey, is what I'm trying to say. Knowing this, how do we incorporate it into our world? What actionable steps can we in fact take? If we believe this to be true, and I'm guessing you do believe it to be true, if you're an entrepreneur, if you've been at it for a little while like most of you have, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm gonna challenge you to think about your plateaus a little bit differently though. Actionable steps, what can we do? Number 1, I think you've got to embrace the plateau as a natural part of growth. So, reframe these plateaus as necessary, as valuable stages of learning, valuable stages of improvement, rather than frustration or frustrating stagnation, I should say. So, in business, use these slower periods to refine systems, to train your team, to focus on small improvements. And in life, maybe practice gratitude or mindfulness for the opportunity to consolidate your skills and your habits. And you know that when you, when you focus on these things, that progress is going to follow. So number 1, embrace the plateau as just part of the growth. Number 2, you've probably heard this one before: focus on the process, not just the outcomes. Develop a love for the daily practices and for the routines that sustain growth. Someone that comes to mind around this, Kobe Bryant, who always talked about doing the daily basics as boring and as, you know, plateau-like as they may be, when he did the basics, eventually he'd have a spurt of growth, of just achieving big goals. But then he'd plateau a bit and it was back to the basics. And he'd have another spurt of success, of growth. So number 2, focus on the process, not just the outcomes. Number 3, I think that if you're gonna embrace the plateaus, you've gotta measure the progress beyond just immediate results. So track and celebrate the micro-improvements, the small changes, even if they don't immediately lead to measurable outcomes, track them. So in business, maybe it's creating metrics that reward just effort alongside results. So it's not all results-based, but calls made or, or appointments set or whatever it may be. Track those things, measure the progress that isn't about just the results. And in life, acknowledge growth and resilience or impatience or an emotional intelligence during your challenging times. Number 4, use plateaus to build mastery. If you know these plateaus are going to last, then you might as well leverage them in a constructive way. Use plateaus to build mastery. What does that mean? Maybe deepen your knowledge and refine your skills during periods of, you know, this apparent stagnation. So, in business, invest in professional development for you, for your team, for your people. Refine your strategies, optimize your workflows. In life, focus on a specific area to master. Maybe that's becoming a better parent specifically, or it's a hobby, or it's just improving relationships. Number 5. Again, if you believe that you're going to have a lot more plateau than you are going to have these peaks of greatness, cultivate patience and perseverance. Remind yourself and your team that lasting success comes from sustained effort, not just the quick wins. And in business, what I'd be doing is maybe sharing stories of long-term success and how the patience paid off. And in life, surround yourself in the right environment, the right mentors, the right role models that have lived through this. That exemplify this value of persistence. Number 6, develop a system for long-term growth. Again, you know that it is unlikely to have just quick, sustainable, nonstop wins. Knowing you're gonna have plateaus, create a structured feedback loop or loops to assess and refine your approach regularly. So in business, they might be periodic reviews to assess progress. Identify what's working and what's not and adjust your strategy accordingly. And in life, maybe that's scheduling some thinking time, some time to personally reflect, to assess your alignment between your values and your goals. And then lastly, I think you got to celebrate the plateau. Just as George Leonard was explaining in his quote, you know, when you start to see the plateau as a path to greatness, as a path to the next spurt of, of massive success, you should start to celebrate the plateau. So make it a habit to recognize and celebrate the plateau as a sign that you're doing the work. So business, that might be incorporating milestones for effort. Maybe it's team recognition for sticking to a process or completing a training program. And in life, it's treating yourself for maintaining consistent habits, like rewarding yourself for sticking to a fitness routine or rewarding yourself for learning a new skill. This is really a mindset shift in my opinion. I think it's one where you're saying to yourself, instead of asking, why am I not improving? When you're in like a plateau, maybe say, this is where mastery is being built. Every small action I'm taking right now is laying the foundation for my next leap forward. So if we can embrace Mac Newton's philosophy and George Leonard's philosophy, and these actionable steps I just went through, you're not only going to progress in your endeavors and in business, you're also going to find a little bit more joy and a little bit more fulfillment in the journey itself. So, the challenge for you today, the focusing question for you today, where are you at right now? Are you in a plateau? How are you feeling about that plateau? Are you embracing it? And working through these actionable steps as I just described, or does it have you a little down and it requires you to reframe exactly what you're experiencing? Again, we have to embrace the plateau as a natural part of our growth. Plateaus, life, work, plateaus in those areas are, are just part of the process. It's where mastery is built. And then we have some brief, brief spurts of progress. And again, as we may regress, the next plateau is going to be at a level higher than your last peak. How cool is that? On that note, that's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.