Here's a quick mental exercise I use to exemplify linear vs exponential career development in my speaking engagements and on my course, Career Hyperdrive:
I ask the crowd:
"What's one and one?"
In unison, they chant back:
"Two!"
"What's two and two?"
"Four!"
"What's three and three?"
They say six.
"What's four and four?"
They say eight.
And then I tell them they're wrong. Most of them, anyway. There are usually a few voices which get drowned out by the crowd. Those are the exponential thinkers. The ones who started off multiplying instead of adding.
When you start in one career vertical, there is no difference between taking a linear or exponential mindset. 1+1 is the same as 1x1. You put in the work and hope everything you learn will help you in your next role.
But once you're in your second job, the difference exists but isn't apparent. 2+2 vs 2x2.
By the time you reach 3, suddenly a gap opens up between those who were adding and those who were multiplying.
If you started by adding, you are now at 6. If you were multiplying, you're suddenly at 9. You're 50% ahead.
By the time you get to 4, linear thinkers are at 8. Exponential thinkers are at 16. You have doubled your potential outcomes.
It's the difference between slow, incremental progress and multiplying knowledge and skill across domains to get further, faster.
Extrapolate this same pattern over the course of a lifetime and suddenly the divergence in outcomes is stark.
You can create a massive the difference in your outcomes, using the same tools, simply by approaching things differently.
Adjusting the frame of how you see your development will change the game completely in the long run.
