The Three Stages

From the desk of Ron Sukenick

In a sense, I've always been about business, and today, quite a number of entrepreneurs look to me as their business advisor. But sometimes, when people first find out I'm a Certified Human Behavior Consultant™ and hear me talk about "going beyond networking to connection", they don't get it. "C'mon, Ron," they say, "Gimme a break. I've got a business to run!" One small business owner put it like this: "I barely have time to network at all, let alone go beyond networking. Why are you trying to steer my focus away from my business?"

Interesting…only last month in INBIZ Magazine, well-known local leadership coach Ron Ernst (could the first name Ron indicate a coaching predilection?) wrote an article that answers my small business owner friend's question. Ernst talks about "navigating the three stages of business growth". Organizations pass through three distinct phases, he points out, from start-up through validation and finally (this is the part that relates to Beyond Networking) to "conscious growth". This third stage, Ernst explains, is where "businesses grow up".

To the question "Why are you trying to steer my focus away from my business?" my namesake Ron is replying that no business can grow up without focusing into (not away from!) itself. That's why he calls that third stage conscious growth.

So, why is my focus on going beyond networking to NetBeing, on connection rather than leads, and on self-discovery? Because businesses can't "grow up" until their leaders do. Businesses can't have sustained growth until their leaders create a working environment that fosters personal growth for everyone in the business and for everyone who does business with that business.

In every sense, connection is all about business. I'm Ron Sukenick, and my goal is to help every business get to Ron Ernst's third stage - and beyond!