"You can't have the fruits
without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories precede
Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good
relationships with others." - Stephen Covey
The title creates confusion among many
people whether to grow horizontally or vertically. I have read Stephen R.
Covey’s book, The 8th Habit
from Effectiveness to Greatness in which he shared the wisdom of growing
horizontally first and then vertically to touch your tipping point. Here goes
the story of a Chinese bamboo tree:
“There’s a certain species of the
Chinese bamboo tree that, when you plant it, you see nothing for four
years. Just a little shoot out of the
ground and that’s it. You weed, water,
cultivate, nurture and do everything you can to make it successful, but you see
nothing. In the fifth year, this
particular species of the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet. Then, once it had its root in place, all of
the growth went above the ground and was visible, giving evidence to the cynics
of the growth that had been occurring all along.”
It is obvious this story to strengthen
your base to grow rapidly later. It is possible when you become jack of all
trades first by spreading your wings in diversified areas. You can test various
waters and understand the ground realities. It is to know something of
everything and everything of something to scale your corporate ladder. You can also become a crack-shot through
rigorous training, experience and practice.
Some companies apply the tool of ‘job rotation’
to their employees to enable them to acquire various tricks of the trade and to
have breadth of knowledge in various departments. It breaks monotony, enhances
expertise and builds confidence. Additionally,
it paves the way for senior leadership roles and responsibilities quickly which
is nothing but growing vertically in the corporate ladder.
In my personal life, I preferred to
have breadth of knowledge in various areas first and then depth of knowledge in
a specific area to grow rapidly later. It is like strengthening my base. It is
like preparing with hard work to lay out a blueprint for smart work. Of course,
you must also consider your age, fire and passion to decide whether you want to
grow horizontally or vertically in your life.
Good luck!
Life is great!
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World in 2013
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Email: msrlctrg@gmail.com
Knowledge Grows When Shared
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comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.
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