When growth becomes a problem

When does growth become a problem?

When I was introduced to this couple they were on the verge of breaking up. Struggling with their finances they prayed, sought counsel and asked God to heal their relationship. The healing came. The relationship was restored and things began to go their way.

Their business grew. They built a network of business leaders and lived off the residual income. Growth was happening. Things were happening. Money started coming in and the more of it that came, the more they ventured into different things.

Their formula for success was simple and logical. They built their business by building two things:

1. Building their people.

2. Building their values.

Their meetings were all about working hard, serving customers, being truthful, trustworthy, and developing character and family. They had good products and the formula worked. Their people multiplied. There was growth.

Then suddenly their focus changed. Their growth attracted all kinds of people, including the shady ones. They began building something else. Now they want to build more possessions. Their focus now is to build more business by building more promise of wealth and abundance.

Now they are into the mystical. The discovery of some secret which they claimed the richest people in the world have today – you know, the folks featured in Forbes Billionaires list. And they began to showcase their European luxury sports cars, fancy time pieces, gadgets and all kinds of expensive stuff.

The mystical has replaced logic. Emotions substitute reason and physical wealth over character development.

I do not need to take on the role of a prophet to prophesy that this kind of growth will not be sustainable. All I need is to be a historian to point out the stories of those who have come before them, have fallen down the path of distraction and destruction. That there are people before who have dove into the magical and the occult. And today, the open secret is that they have lost everything.

As I keep reiterating in my leadership seminars, “Growth for growth’s sake is a vey dangerous thing.” And why is this so? Because growth should be the natural by-product of doing the right things consistently well. There is no such thing as “discovering some ancient secret to success.”

Malcolm Muggeridge, the famed British media mogul of the earlier years says: “There are no new things happening. Only old things happening to new people.”

I don’t know, perhaps I am old school as I still value character development as the foundation for wealth building and retention. I value relationships and trust more than money and riches. And the one ancient revelation that is not a secret is the law of sowing and reaping.

Growth, wealth and success are all heavy responsibilities to bear. We need to have the skills to manage it, but more importantly, we need to allow wealth, growth and success to produce better people out of us and not be come greedy people in the process.

Growth should be the natural by-product of doing the right things consistently well. And if this is not the foundation, then no matter how big you or your businesses have grown, you will be fighting fires all the time.

Better to stick to old fashion values. Love God. Love neighbors. Work hard. Manage money carefully. Save and invest resources wisely. And embrace simplicity. This equation has been proven to work and it is an open secret of the truly successful.

(Bring your leaders to Shangri-La Hotel Makati and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership this Sept. 13-14. For further inquiries contact Jen at +639178173736, April at +639285591798 or Inspire at 6310912 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)