(Originally published on LinkedIn June, 2017)

‘What’s your exit strategy?’  I was recently asked this question by an attorney while talking about the formation of a new business.  While this may be ‘de rigeur’ for tech entrepreneurs, for many in the non-tech world, this question is puzzling.  The first thought that typically comes to mind is: ‘I don’t know if this business idea is even going to work, how can I think of the end before we have even got it off the ground?!’

However, this is an important question, since the answer can have big impacts on key business decisions.  Take Daniel Gjøde for example.  Daniel is the founder of the award winning marketing and branding design firm Stupid Studio.  Daniel founded Stupid Studio in 2006 and built the Studio into an internationally recognized design firm.  However, by mid 2015 the ‘buzz’ of personal growth was gone for Daniel, his daily activities had become routine.  Then to add to the pressure, he found ‘the perfect’ growth opportunity outside the Studio. 

Daniel was now faced with the ‘exit‘ question.  His need for change was real and strong, but should he close or sell the Studio or was there a third way? 

burnout is not work overload, but working too long without personal development

What was this itch that Daniel was feeling?  Stop and think back, how long have you typically held a job or role?  After two or three years most people achieve a level of mastery of their role, meaning that moving into year four, without some significant change, growth ceases.   It is when the growth ceases that frustration starts.   In their latest book, An Everyone Culture, Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey state that “burnout is not work overload, but working too long without personal development”,  and when burnout occurs, innovation stops.

While the quest for innovation is endless, the fuel for innovation is diversity of thought and experience.   Edward DeBono remarked, “it is not possible to dig a hole in a different place, by digging the same hole deeper”; to sustain innovation and growth we must have change.  Through change, we experience a broadening of perspective; this alters both our mind and our ability to recognize and handle complexity. 

In Daniel’s situation, by working with his partners he was able to devise a solution that not only allowed him to pursue new personal growth opportunities without ‘exiting’ Stupid Studio, but also transitioned his general management responsibilities, thus giving one of his partners the opportunity to grow.   As Board Chairman, Daniel is still able to maintain contact and support for the Studio, but the reduced time requirement has allowed him to pursue other interests.  Interestingly, as a result of his new perspectives, Daniel has identified some potential new business opportunities; making his experience a very good illustration of DeBono’s point that sources of innovation come by “digging a hole in a different place”.

by enabling your team member’s growth that you create your own ‘exit’ strategy

Every day, managers and leaders are faced with the challenges of building and guiding teams that can create sustained innovation.  The temptation for all leaders is to designate your ‘experts’ and keep them assigned to the same project or team year after year.  Are these individuals growing?  As we have seen, it is through personal growth that the ability to absorb different perspectives and visualize higher degrees of complexity develops.  Are you providing your team members with opportunities for divergent experiences that allow them to develop these abilities?   Remember it is by enabling your team member’s growth that you create your own ‘exit’ strategy, which allows you to continue your own journey of development.