[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/growth\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/growth\/","headline":"Growth","name":"Growth","description":"There is no limit Think exponentially, not linearly. 1% Exponential […]","datePublished":"2022-12-05","dateModified":"2023-03-01","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/author\/algorithmlife\/#Person","name":"algorithmlife","url":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/author\/algorithmlife\/","identifier":1,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d9ce54bf7884db06c868d4c3d9f401d81cecc940d6403409642a6a34d06caa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d9ce54bf7884db06c868d4c3d9f401d81cecc940d6403409642a6a34d06caa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Person","name":"Dave Burnett"},"url":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/growth\/","about":["Learn More"],"wordCount":775,"articleBody":"There is no limitThink exponentially, not linearly.1%Exponential growth looks a lot like zero until it doesn’t.Fix the zero.\u00a0 Any amount of effort, multiplied by 0, equals 0.\u00a0 Fixing the zero if there is one, rather than applying effort elsewhere, is the best place to start.Viral coefficient.The way we were taught to think about growth limits us in some ways.\u00a0 We were taught to think about growth in a linear way.\u00a0 For example, things, when growing, grow at a fixed linear pace.\u00a0 Every measurement increases by one.\u00a0 You grow from 4 to 5, or from 19 to 20.\u00a0 Or even growing in 2’s, or 5’s, or 10’s.\u00a0 But the key is the growth I’m describing is linear, increasing at a constant pace. But the reality is you should think exponentially, or in terms of percentage increases, rather than whole numbers.\u00a0 Let’s take a standard exponential curve.\u00a0 Something starts at 1, then 2, then instead of 3, it goes to 4, then 8, then 16, then 32… this is the way some things work, and should be your goal.\u00a0 Anything on a linear growth path is limited to an almost constant state of growth.\u00a0 But anything on an exponential growth path can grow to be infinite much faster. That’s a function of exponential growth.\u00a0 It looks a lot like zero, then suddenly it’s not. Let me explain the math.\u00a0 If you double every month your efficiency, or your output, or your money, you don’t see the massive future results for a long time because you’re starting from such a small base.\u00a0 Say you improve at 0.1%, but you double your improvement on a consistent basis.\u00a0 You learn something, you build on what you’ve learned with more knowledge, so your progress doubles.\u00a0 Then doubles again, and again. Here’s how that looks using a monthly timeline.\u00a0 Month one, you start with an improvement of 0.1%, then the next month you double to 0.2%, then 0.4%, 0.8%, 1.6%.\u00a0 Finally! After 5 months you have 1% growth!\u00a0 It took you 5 months of what feels like banging your head against the wall with no progress to get that 1% improvement. But keep watching. Month 6 your improvement doubles to 3.2%, then to 6.4%, 12.8%.\u00a0 In the next 3 months, your improvement is now over 10%.\u00a0 But it keeps going: 25.6%, 51.2%, 102.4% and in the 12th month, 204.8%.\u00a0 In a year, you’ve achieved a more than 200% improvement. Amazing, but even more amazing is it keeps going from there, from 200% to 400% to 800%… so you see how even though the first 5 months, there was very little progress, but even in a timeline as short as a year, the impact is substantial.\u00a0 Understanding this, and working through the times when progress appears to be zero, having a compound growth mindset is the key to success. A variation of the exponential growth function is something called a viral coefficient.\u00a0 This is a math function describing how fast something spreads, or replicates.\u00a0 One way to think about this is with your family.\u00a0 If you have a mother and a father, and you have two children, that is a viral coefficient of 1.\u00a0 Each unit replicated once.\u00a0 However each of those children has two children.\u00a0 And each of those children have two children.\u00a0 Before you know it you have a family tree that is doubling with every generation. The same thing happens with growth.\u00a0 If something is contagious, or grows exponentially, it can be measured by it’s viral coefficient, and anything with a coefficient of greater than 1, grows really, really quickly!\u00a0 Not to be negative, but think COVID 19.\u00a0 It spread quickly, and some variants were more contagious than others. There is one other multiplier you have to be careful of:\u00a0 zero.\u00a0 Anything multiplied by zero is zero.\u00a0 It eliminates any progress you’ve made, any growth you’ve seen.\u00a0 That said, it is difficult to be objective about any zero-based activities you might be engaging in. What is a zero based activity?\u00a0 It could be a fundamental area of weakness you have.\u00a0 It could be someone who just can’t deliver.\u00a0 It could be a blind spot you have in either your approach or your activity.\u00a0 But whatever it is, it is something that is holding you back.\u00a0 The challenge with this bottleneck is what you’re going to do about it.\u00a0 Do you take your limited resources and focus on making your strengths better?\u00a0 Or do you fix the zero spot? Let’s simplify the question and use math to make the decision.\u00a0\u00a0 Any amount of effort, multiplied by 0, equals 0.\u00a0 Fixing the zero in your life, if there is one, rather than applying more effort elsewhere is the best place to start. Once you have the zero fixed, you can truly start to grow."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Learn More","item":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Growth","item":"https:\/\/algorithmforlife.com\/learn-more\/growth\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]