Growth happens exponentially, not linearly

I was at a University of Michigan alumni gathering last night. While catching up with fellow-entrepreneurs and their businesses, our conversation centered around growth of businesses and how it occurs. As kids, we are taught to count one by one in a linear fashion and that type of thinking continues into our work lives. But our minds don’t function linearly (neurons multiply), our bodies don’t grow linearly (cells multiply) and neither do businesses (customers multiply) – growth happens exponentially. One becomes two becomes four becomes eight becomes sixteen becomes sixty four becomes one hundred and twenty eight and so on. That’s how ideas propagate. That’s how even money grows – it compounds. When we build a system or a product, it has to assume this exponentiality in its development. As entrepreneurs, we must be capable of visualizing volumes based on exponential growth. We must actively shed linear thinking.

By Praveen Suthrum, President & Co-Founder, NextServices