Navigating Rapid Growth

Through the Lens of Whitewater

There’s a lot of talk in the business and coaching world about RAPID growth and RAPID transformation. The problem is that people want the growth and transformation without navigating the RAPID.

In whitewater, there are four distinct features for navigating a rapid:

Flow

You have to stay in the river’s current. You do this with presence, intention, awareness, and focus. How often do we get distracted, lose focus, and meander into side channels and eddies? Or just skip straight to strategy? You can have the best strategy in the world, but if you’re not in the flow, you can’t run the rapid.

Gradient

The river drops in elevation. The steeper the drop, the swifter the water flows. Decisions must be made quickly, adjustments happen on the fly, and feedback is immediate. With rapid growth, these quick decisions and immediate feedback can feel disorienting. You can't hide behind perfectionism and procrastination when you're moving with velocity.

Constriction

The river channel narrows and creates a constriction. This narrowing can feel uncomfortable. Rapid growth can sometimes feel the same way. We have to let go of outdated mindsets, relationships, and past stories. This step is often overlooked in transformation—we want the growth without the discomfort. The truth is, this is the crux. This is the way through the rapid.

Obstacle

Without an obstacle, there is no rapid—it’s just a river. Obstacles are inevitable in our quest for rapid growth. When you’re guiding a boat, you don’t focus on the obstacle; you focus on the water. The obstacles are self-doubt, uncertainty, scarcity, and fear. The more comfortable we become with these obstacles, the more at ease we’ll be running the rapid.

The self-help world tells us to get rid of these challenges, but that’s impossible—they’re part of the river. A good guide (coach) acknowledges the obstacles but doesn’t fixate on them. They focus on the narrow opening, the crux, and the flow.

Let the good river flow!

JB