Here are two questions you should ask when you experience growth of any kind:

1. Does this growth support the purpose?
2. Does this growth increase quality?

To answer these questions, you need to define purpose and quality for what is growing. Keep it simple.

To help illustrate, let's see the two growth questions in action. Let's look at growing Slack community members and email subscribers.

I'll use my Build Anything with No-Code Slack Community (BANC) and my blog.

BANC's purpose is to encourage interaction among people about no-code. Relevant and helpful conversations determine the community's quality.

Here we go.

1. Do more community members support the BANC purpose?

Not always. More people sometimes means less interaction. I've been in rooms full of people and have had no interaction. I've also been in Lyft rides and have had no interaction.

2. Do more community members increase quality?

My gut says no. More members can mean conversations are less helpful and more promotional. But, it's possible that more people means more conversations take place. If these conversations are relevant and helpful, then bingo.

Conclusion: continue to question more BANC members. Look for other ways to promote and measure interaction. Also, introduce guidelines and moderation to keep conversations relevant and helpful.

My blog's purpose is to share learnings and for me to self-reflect on my no-code journey. Its quality depends on usefulness. Open rates, low unsubscribe rate, and personal satisfaction measure usefulness.

1. Do more subscribers support the blog's purpose?

Yes. More subscribers supports sharing. As long as the numbers don't go to my head, they shouldn't affect my ability to self-reflect, either.

2. Do more subscribers increase quality?

Yes. That's the hope. Passive subscribers should not decrease the blog's quality. Knowing more people are reading keeps me accountable to write and to write well. I don't plan on selling ads anytime soon, either.

Conclusion: more subscribers seems like a fine type of growth at the moment.

Growth boils down to focusing on making your business, product, and skills better. Better in serving its purpose and in delivering value.

As Paul Jarvis puts it in his book Company of One, "Opportunities are obligations wearing a mask." Opportunities for growth can come at a cost. Question growth before you find it cost you.

Until next time,

Bryce

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