Well, it’s Rainforest Friday and I wanted to share with you the seven stages of growth every seed goes through to become a productive tree. If God can refer to us as trees of righteousness (Isa 61:3) then I certainly feel comfortable doing so. The rainforest makes an excellent business model for anyone so here are the seven stages you should know about that every tree (business) goes through.

1. Germination: The idea is acted on. Investment is made. Resources are committed.
2. Roots down: The new plant looks for security, sending roots down to get more water (information) and nutrients (capital) gaining stabilization before going to market.
3. Stems up: The stems support the leaves. Think of the stems as the leadership team going ahead and opening up the new location or venture which will ultimately support a team of productive workers (leaves). Leaders must lead. They need to go first.
4. Seek the light: Keep your eye on the vision. Be vigilant about continuously aligning your strategy with the vision. Position yourself to best pass on the vision to the rest of the team.
5. Grow leaves: Build your support staff and get productive. Leaves turn light energy (vision) into chemical energy (action) to produce food (product or service).
6. Flowers bloom: Flowers use shape, color, design and scent to attract pollinators such as birds and bees. Think of the flowers as marketing and the pollinators as early adopters. The pollinators are first to respond to the marketing message and they carry that message wherever they go. They spread the word on behalf of the marketer. That ultimately brings the next phase.
7. Grow fruit: Think of it as critical mass. According to Wikipedia, “Critical mass is a sociodynamic term to describe the existence of sufficient momentum in a social system such that the momentum becomes self-sustaining and fuels further growth.”

In the rainforest, once fruit is produced, every manner of customer flocks, climbs and crawls to enjoy its bounty. In the process the seeds within the fruit are freely distributed on the forest floor ensuring a self sustaining condition with continuous future growth. Hope you found this helpful. Details at 11:00 (o-:

Until next time, be fruitful, then multiply.