I know you’ve heard this concept, often from me, probably from others.

Most of us have attempted something on our own that fell short … maybe you didn’t think you had time to build a team … maybe you were determined you didn’t need any help … but when that attempt went south, I’m sure that somewhere in the deep recesses of your brain, you thought … “I shouldn’t have tried this on my own.”

Start building … coaching … leading your team now. You’ll never look back.

When you do that, you’ll see the wisdom of this mantra:

Stay ready … so you don’t have to get ready.

I think we’ve heard this in much simpler terms … something like “he who hesitates is lost” or words to that effect.

I prefer this more elegant phrasing which dramatizes both the elation and exhaustion that arrives just as we’re nearing the finish line. We’re tired of the race … or just plain tired … and figure we’re almost there so, hey, let’s catch our breath.

Sports is a metaphorical gold mine for this syndrome. How many likely winners failed in the last minutes, ran out of steam … and lost a game or race they should have won?

Winston Churchill added this riff at the end of all of his wartime correspondence during World War II:

KBO

Keep Buggering On.

Still good advice, huh?

Grab the gold ring first.

Then … and only then … sit down and enjoy the victory.

Like many of us, I’ll bet you’re making this comparison all too often.

Looking across the aisle … across the room … at someone sitting in a coffee shop … and thinking … “I wish I ….”

Don’t give it another thought.

Why focus on how they’re doing?

Focus on your own progress.

That’s the only thing you can control.

Virginia “Ginni” Rometty is the current chair, president, and CEO of IBM. After more than 30 years with the company, she became the first woman to head the company in January 2012.

In today’s quote, she hit on a powerful but elusive concept … maybe not quite that accelerated growth creates chaos … but it sure breeds discomfort.

The tragedy is that the opposite condition of stagnant, even moderate growth, creates the kind of comfort that kills companies.

The moral of the story?

Build a great leadership team so you can deal with the discomfort that accompanies growth.

Remember this, too.

No Growth? No Change? No Survival!