The reward of CONSISTENCY
I've long believed that there's a 'consistency reward' duration. This is a gestation period during which it feels like we're grinding, and grinding, and seeing little positive outcome.
Most startups tend to give up during this gestation period. Some give up just after, some a little early - but based upon the average failure rates my feeling is that the duration of this gestation timeframe is roughly 3 year from FIRST ACTION. i.e. not from idea inception; but from the date of first real action. And thereafter, there's another 2-3 years needed for mature, consistent (maybe even exponential/explosive) growth to happen.
Sure a lot of this depends on the idea/concept, execution, etc. But the pattern is pretty obvious and you can find real, live proof of it using google - switch to "Images" mode and search "COMPANYNAME yoy growth since inception".
There's lots of growth stories out there. Way too many to look at; but I'm just picking out some that very visibily fit this model.
facebook yoy growth since inception
Check out Facebook. If you notice 2004 - 2007 is roughly 3 years; but the 3 year point was the 'first spark' of real growth.
However it's real boom period began in the year 2008. I'm least concerned with when/whether it is slowing or will slow down or whatever - my focus in this article is the "kick-start".
Talk about grinding at the mill - this is precisely the pattern we can see with most organizations. Don't believe me? Check out Whatsapp.
Don't be fooled by the graph - Whatsapp's first-action date was sometime in early 2009. Thus 2009 - 2012 is a reasonable gestation period that fits the plan. And after that 2012-2014 is the exponential reward period.
Of course, I'm not writing this to convince anyone, I'm just penning my thoughts.
I came across this genius article recently and it rekindled my thoughts on this subject. (Many thanks to Janav for his excellent article - https://janav.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/think-long-term/). Basically he analyzes the extra-long-term goodwill rewards that come from perfoming the same good task over a prolonged period of time. The goodwill snowballs... into what I call "Godwill".
At this time you're basically a God; people look up to you, worship you - even beg you to be their mentor. You have true power and can support people with their thoughts and ideas. Your knowledge is phenomenal, and in good proportion wisdom goes with it.
Let me simplify and recap. I'm naming these 3 periods as follows.
- Conceptualization/Inception: Nothing happens here.
- First Action Period: Note the date. Very important. Lets call it 'FAP'.
- 'First Spark' Consistency Reward: 3 years from FAP; give-or-take.
- 'Exponential Growth' Consistency Reward: 5 years from FAP; give-or-take.
- 'Avalanche' of goodwill - the 'Godwill' Period: Starts round 15-16 years from FAP. And continues till you die.
These timeframes are tried, tested and vetted by veterans of the industry - and I'm pretty sure someone from every walk of life will be able to assure us about the accuracy of this timeframe logic. I've analyzed these patterns from 1930s (KFC) to some of the most recent ones (FB, Whatsapp) - and I find the same holds true 80% of the time.
By applying our mind, we can control 80% of the future - we're one step closer to creating the future the way we want it to be. The major thing to remember is FAP, then count 3 years while you work SMART. Once you see 'First Spark' work even harder! 'Exponential Growth' is just around the corner.
But even when you get your exponential growth - remember the impact of this is different for everyone - do not stop until you reach Godwill.