If you have ever planted a green bean seed and watched it grow, it seems forever until you see anything pop from the soil. But once you see the crook of the plant, and before you can blink…it’s huge. The difficult point of growth for the bean seed is breaking through the soil; Lansing has broken through.

For growth to occur you must have soil, sunlight and water.

Just like having the right soil, it is imperative to have the right people. Sunlight is the energy to the plant as ideas are the energy to the business. As sunlight transforms growth for the bean, business utilizes ideas to grow and harvest opportunity. The water then keeps the bean from drooping, making it stand up straight. As the water gives the plant the ability to grow, business growth comes from leadership.

So what is critical to the survival of the bean? It is the needed combination of soil, sunlight and water. This is also true in business where it is the proper combination of ideas, people and leadership that has (and will continue to be) the only source of growth in business.

Element one – people

Selecting the right people is like selecting the right soil. You can’t grow the bean unless you have the right soil. So in business terms, we need to get the right people in the right place to grow the company. The soil is important as it is the basis for the beans’ ability to grow and therefore, a person’s ability to develop. Anyone who has ever had to terminate someone because the person “just didn’t fit in” understands the concept of planting a bean in the wrong soil. For businesses, it is critical to select the right people. Similarly, it is critical to understand what types of beans will flourish in your “soil,” so you need to know your culture.

Element two – ideas

Without sunlight, without ideas, business remains stagnant. Even upon breaking ground, a business’ ability to reach its full potential is hampered by the lack of ideas. To be a patch of soil without a flourishing crop is the same as a business lacking growth. The truth is that business either grows or dies—it’s as simple as that.

Element three – leadership

Great leadership is the single most important factor. Without it, the people and ideas lack direction just as the plant can’t grow without water. As business leaders, we know what it feels like to be without rain, wishing rain would show up and/or watching the weather reports to be able to adjust plans accordingly.

Unlike rain, leadership can be predictable, determined, controllable, directed and you can choose your leadership style and presence. So, focusing your people and ideas in the right direction is important…absolutely. So, set your company’s culture, pick your soil and make it rain to grow your company!

Anyone who has spent an ounce of time talking with me has heard me say this: “Greater Lansing is the biggest small town you will EVER be a part of.” To correlate that saying to this article, the people of Lansing are the soil.

Keep in mind, the nature of life is change. Growing can never mean staying the same and according to Dwight Eisenhower, ”Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something that you want done because he/she wants to do it.”

We have all heard of the importance of economic gardening in Michigan, and as a business owner who is focused on the success of Greater Lansing businesses, let’s plant the beans and grow, Lansing grow!

		Julie Mann is the CEO and president of JMann Consulting Group, The Rock Star Factory and the newly launched company, RockStar Verified. Mann may be reached via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .