By the time we arrive at whatever success we are experiencing, we face the ultimate challenge: Achieving future success will require different skills and insights than what was required for our current success. “What got you here, won’t get you there.” So says the title of a popular book.
If we don’t invest now in the competencies and learning we will need in the future, we are destined to underperform. This will hit immediately following our current success. Scholars call this the Sigmoid Curve.
The Sigmoid Curve is the S-shaped pathway that determines our long-term success or failure. The curve explains why we must change now in order to sustain the results we currently enjoy. If you are not ready when the future arrives, get ready for a long slog of substandard performance at the bottom of the curve. Outdated skills and talents will leave you and your team suffering.
Staying too long at the bottom of the curve is a common problem. Leaders who fail to invest in the future now face the harsh penalty of watching competitors eat their lunch. Those who are self-satisfied and embrace the rallying cry, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Those people are destined to wake up and find the world has passed them by.
The Sigmoid curve suggests it is just a matter of time before whatever you are doing to succeed is broken beyond repair. The best leaders jump the curve. They are investing right now in the skills, knowledge, and ideas needed for the next stage of success.
What is true for organizations is also true for individuals and the relationships they maintain. To continue to achieve superior outcomes, teams and people must change now by investing in new ideas and skills. No one skips the S-curve. We are all subject to the differences required by the future. We can only control how we prepare for tomorrow…today.
Are you and your team ready for the S-curve?
