I had coffee with a former colleague a few weeks ago. We worked together years ago and have stayed in touch occasionally.
I was startled when I saw him, because he had aged beyond his years and appeared gaunt and frail. I don’t know what’s wrong, but he’s not well. I was glad that we got together, and we have tentatively set another time to connect several months from now.
It’s the beginning of November, and in honor of the recent World Series, let’s call this the home stretch. It’s a good time to review what you wanted to achieve this year, your actual accomplishments, and a realistic assessment of what you can do in the next 45 days.
I’ve talked to a few people recently who are ready to “write off” their results for this year for various reasons. I’m always surprised to hear such comments but have no doubt that their results will reflect this attitude.
I’ve worked with some very successful intelligent and creative people. I’ve also worked with intelligent and creative people who aspire to success, but don’t quite make it. One of the important things that differentiates the two groups is “the secret sauce,” that is, implementation.
The creative or entrepreneurial mind becomes excited and stimulated by bright, shiny objects, which often leads to new ideas and inspiration. Here’s the challenge: if new ideas distract your attention and you forget to implement what you’re already working on, overall, your results will be weaker.
It’s that time of the year where you’re wondering what the heck happened to the year…how did it go by so quickly…. and … how am I going to complete everything that I committed to do in 2023?
Well, there are about 80 days left in this year. The biggest challenge is falling into the trap of trying to do everything that you didn’t accomplish all year. If you turn into a whirlwind, you might make a little progress on several things, but may end up feeling dissatisfied because you didn’t get a great result on an important initiative.
This topic has come up with clients several times in the past few weeks. For example, one executive who is preparing for retirement wants to hire someone to manage operational issues in the company. He hadn’t thought of this as succession, but that’s exactly what it is.
When you hire for succession, you’re not just thinking about hiring a competent person to fill a position. You’re considering a longer-term leader for key positions in your company or department.
This month has continued the trend of busy Decembers. Everyone seems to have been going full steam since the beginning of the month and many have frantically tried to get twice the work done in half the time.
Once again, time management reigns.
The autumn equinox arrived yesterday evening at 9:04p EDT. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it marks shorter daylight hours and cooler weather. The current indicator of change is that it gets light later in the morning and gets dark earlier in the evening.
Different cultures commemorate the equinox with various customs. I typically notice a shift in the workplace at this time of the year. The looser environment of summer transitions into more of a settled and focused workplace.
To set and attain goals is an important process for nearly all high-achieving leaders. Whether you go through a formal process to set and monitor goals, or informally record your aspirations, the desired outcome is the same.
People typically identify tasks or activities as the stepping stones for goal achievement. For example, if you want to achieve a certain revenue number in your department, you can divide that number among your employees resulting in a goal of x dollars per employee.
No matter how prepared you think you are, it’s essential to be ready for staff changes that can disrupt your organization’s operational flow. People resign suddenly. They develop a debilitating illness. They have family emergencies that take priority.
Are you and your management team prepared for such occurrences? Do you know how to jump in and do the various functions that these people have done well and consistently until they aren’t there to do them?