I ran cross country in high school and college, and without fail there would always be some runners who would bolt from the starting line at full sprint to get ahead.

Don’t get me wrong, it looks impressive. But consider this? How long do you think they could keep up that pace?

I always took a different approach and sure, they’d be ahead of me for mile 1 and mile 2, but in that 3rd mile I’d start passing them 1 by 1.

A focus on fast results is great for a short sprint – but you’re in this for the long-run right?

Different strategies are needed for different destinations.

You probably sprinted to 6-figures, and maybe you’re still hustling now.

If you want to scale to seven® you’ll need a different approach because, what got you to 6-figures won’t get you to seven.

In fact, focusing on fast growth may actually be slowing you down. Visionary CEOs value speed, but often speed comes at a cost.

“Slow and steady wins the race.” We’ve all heard it, but in the moment it’s so hard not to want results right NOW.

Focusing on fast growth slows you down, because it:

1 – Keeps you in reactive mode

When you NEED results ASAP, there’s not much room for being proactive. You don’t take the time to slow down and plan, to make calculated decisions, or to set you and your team up for success. And instead, you rush yourself to make quick decisions, change up things and react right away because of the pressure to start seeing results right away.

2 – Leads to burnout for you and your team

When your focus is solely on short-term results, you’re not building for the long-term and you’ll find yourself in the same situation next month, and every month after that. Each and every month you and your team are hustling to get results NOW and this leads to higher stress levels, burnout, team turnover and more short-term fires which keeps you in a cycle of hustle & burnout.

3 – Creates feast & famine cycles in cash flow

The cycle of hustle and burnout then leads to ups and downs in cash flow. It’s like your productivity, results, revenue, your entire business is on a rollercoaster.

4 – Doesn’t lead to sustainable growth

All of this keeps you stuck in the short-term – and doesn’t let you catch your breath and start building for the long-term. Sustainable growth strategies are what will lead to consistent, repeatable, predictable growth.

Isn’t it interesting? The more you focus on fast results – the slower your growth. And by slowing down and focusing on sustainable growth, you’ll actually grow faster in the long-run.

Can you keep up your current pace? If not, the answer isn’t to try to run faster. Slow down to speed up!