James Laughlin argues that people, teams, and organizations either grow or decay. Growth requires active choice and measurement. He uses Greg Creed's example of measuring taco fullness at Taco Bell to show how concrete metrics drive real improvement.
A huge welcome back to the Lead on Purpose podcast. Look, I just want to say a quick thank you, thank you to each and every one of you. Just recently we were announced as the winners for the New Zealand Podcast Awards in the best interview category. We also came runner up in the best business category. So a huge thank you because we wouldn't be a podcast if it wasn't for you. So thank you for listening, for sharing, for commenting, all of that stuff. Thank you. It really enthuses me and the team to keep going. So a massive appreciation. So I want to talk about the law of growth. What's the law of growth? Well, you can choose to deteriorate or grow. That's right, you're either growing or decaying. But the choice is yours. Look, I believe no matter what it is, whether it's this plant that's sitting here beside me, whether it's ourselves, our mindsets, our relationships, our wealth, those things are all either growing or they're decaying. And it's all up to you around how you grow it or how you let it atrophy. So what are you doing right now to really adhere to that law of growth? Because if we violate the law of growth, what are the consequences? Well, the consequences are apathy. They are loss of revenue, probably loss of relationships, or at least mediocrity in those relationships. If it's from a culture standpoint, you know you're going to have people walk away your retention, you're going to struggle there. Your culture won't be high performing. It's so important that we focus on growth. And when you look at the core human needs, you know, there's six core human needs. Certainty, variety, significance, love, contribution, and growth. Those last two, contribution and growth, are arguably what we call the spiritual needs. But when we meet our needs, we have a sense of fulfillment. So all of us are wanting to grow. We really do. We don't want to sit in stagnancy. We all have a desire to grow. So when you feel a lack of fulfillment or even contentment, it's because you're probably not growing. We all want to learn more. And let's face it, that whole idea of contributing, helping others, you cannot give what you do not have. And the more you have, the more you have to give, whether that's knowledge, patience, wisdom, money, time. The more you have of all of those things, the more you have to give. Look, I see this time and time again, whether I'm working with large corporates, whether I'm giving a keynote to an organization Or a team. And I'm asking questions in Q and A time. I'm always asking around growth. Are you meeting your needs for growth? Is this organization helping you be the best version of you? Most of the time, when people come to me saying, I'm thinking of leaving this role, I've been in a senior leadership role for so long, but I'm bored or I'm not too sure which way to go, the first thing I'll ask is, how much growth have you had in the last couple of years? You know, what have you done to grow your mind, your revenue, your input, your influence, your mindset, the relationships, your network? If it's. I've kind of been just kind of ticking by. Well, that's often an indicator why people leave. If it's not growing, it's doing what? Decaying. So I want you just to look at the key pillars of your life, and it might be personal, professional, financial, health, like two or three, even four pillars of your life, and ask yourself, am I growing or am I decaying? And if you're running a team, ask yourself this. It's a damn hard question to ask, but is my team that I lead growing or decaying? That team might be one person. It might be one virtual assistant overseas. It might be 5,000 people, 100,000. But is it growing or decaying? And how do you measure that? Getting clear on how you measure growth is absolutely crucial. We had Greg Creed on the show. Greg's a friend who ended up being the CEO of Taco Bell and then went on to be CEO of Yum Brands. And he. He decided when he took over Taco Bell that they would measure one thing. That was, how full is the taco. That's right. How full is the taco? How simple is that? Right? But he measured that and got everyone globally to measure that over a period of months. Now, that increased from mid-60s to, I think, mid-80s in terms of percentage, full taco and everything else rose with it. Rising tide lifts all boats. So I want you to think about that. You know, Greg understood the law of growth. When everybody on the ship is growing and moving towards something, there's retention, there's great culture, there's obviously revenue that reflects that. But people are bought in. What are the team around you doing? Is it growing or decaying? What is your family doing growing or decaying? Look, I really hope this has got you just to think for a moment around growth, but do not take it for granted. The highest performers prioritize growth. But for now, please get out there and lead your life on purpose.
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