Effort on the Exponential Curve

As we’ve seen in prior posts, humans are typically not very good with change. In addition to familiar types of change driven by the linear flow of time - exponential change is even more difficult for us to understand or appreciate.

So what is exponential change, and why should we care? While most of our daily life revolves around steady linear progression or decline, exponential curves represent far higher rates of change, usually starting from a very small and imperceptible base. In the beginning, a new trend or system change does not seem to matter much - if at all… until, all of sudden that exponential change becomes an “overnight” success.

Exponential change becomes even more exciting when two or more fast moving trends collide, opening up entirely new opportunities. We are going to look at some colliding technology trends - but keep in mind - this type of opportunity for combined exponential growth exists in many different areas of your life, both large and small.

Author and consultant Tony Seba has covered this type of exponential convergence for more than a decade, especially in the fields of solar power and battery storage. What his research has discovered is that in a world where both the costs of solar panels and the cost of battery storage are dropping precipitously (due to massive scale) - incredible new opportunities are on the horizon. Basically, by deftly combining the right mix of solar electric generation and battery storage, in the very near future any location on the planet will be able tap into extremely low cost power production - beating all other forms of electric generation.

This mix between battery cost and solar cost yields a curve showing where there is a best fit of investment between batteries, solar and wind.

Not only does this curve demonstrate the economic potential for “going green” - but more importantly from an effort vs. impact perspective, it also highlights a system effect in which a small additional investment in cost will automatically generate a 2-3X output of power. As seen below - in our soon-to-be-revolutionized power grid, spending an extra 20% on overall solar panel investment will yield an astonishing 300% increase in power output.

By now you might be wondering - how does this discussion of the power grid relate to goal setting? There are two critical things to keep in mind:

1). When setting your goals, be keenly aware of areas that are growing at exponential rates and/or areas where you are already personally experiencing a great deal of success and growth. As the old saying goes, you want to “hitch your wagon to a star”. Or in more modern days, “the trend is your friend”.

In an era of incredible change, stay laser-focused on finding two or even three exponential stars you can combine in order to create something excitingly new and powerful. 

2). In addition to hitching yourself squarely on the path of massive exponential growth curves, pay careful attention to areas where just a little more effort could deliver wildly disproportionate results. Maybe it’s a small change to your work routine, or the people you call on, or the type of equipment you use, or the timing and intensity of your training. For example, maybe it’s a simple combination of getting to work a little earlier and calling on new people and offering them a solution that leverages a new exponential technology.

The results from these type of exponential combinations become apparent very quickly! You can easily discover that applying just a little extra investment of time and energy at just the right time and place will send your results on a whole other trajectory towards goal success!

Bottom Line: Learning to identify and then carefully investing in exponential growth is an unmatched skill for your Rocket Goal success!

PS - (If you want to take a 30 minute diversion to geek out on solar energy and exponential cost curves click here! 😃 )