What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Cal Newport wrote a best-selling book called “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”. The main concept is pretty self-explanatory - If you want to achieve a new level of result you need a new approach. Our actions and tactics are perfectly calibrated to create the level of results we’re currently getting. You need to chance the input in order to create a new output.

What’s more difficult to understand though, is when and how to put that into practice. Not only is there an unconscious resistance to doing things differently, but there’s a logical argument too. Once you’ve put so much time and effort into something, and it produced for you, it’s hard to admit that it’s become the exact thing that’s now holding you back.

In your health, maybe it’s someone who lost 20 pounds and can’t get the last 10 off. They need to experiment with new diet and exercise plans to reach their goal, even though what they’ve been doing has been effective for them. In business, maybe someone doubled revenue last quarter but it didn’t increase in the next. They need to explore new strategies that build on the growth they’ve experienced.

The really tricky thing is - If someone wants to improve the recommendation usually is to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. It’s the 80/20 rule, 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the activity. Double down on what’s producing results and that will continue to drive growth. 

With that in mind, the question becomes… How do you know when results have plateaued and it’s time to make a change, and when it’s time to stay the course?

I don’t think there’s a straight answer to that, but here are a few influencing factors to consider:

- What’s the current rate of change?

If things are still improving but only slowly and incrementally, especially when compared to how it used to be, that suggests that the opportunity is saturated.

-What’s your honest intuition about it? Do you feel like there’s still genuine upside, or has the opportunity been squeezed?

Don’t underestimate your own impression on where things are at.

-How radically different is your vision for where you’re headed compared to where you’re at now?

The bigger the gap, the more reason to consider changing course. I understand that growth is a progression, and that you need to hit intermediate milestones on your way to something bigger. But also mind the gap and always be curious to explore if there’s a better way.

When you’re in a season of maintenance, keep doing the same things. But when it’s time to grow, that involves doing things differently. And that’s what will ‘get you there’ where you’ve imagined in your mind.

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