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#77 Say Goodbye and Foster Excitement for the New Year
Posted by Justin Ahrens in Tips on December 22nd, 2010Tip 77: Take time to give the previous year a high-five or a eulogy – either way, say good-bye and foster excitement for next year.
When you were in grade school, remember the last day of school before the holiday break? Cookies, games, maybe a test of the reindeer’s names, and fun and excitement for what was coming: time off, the expectation of a trip, the anticipation of presents.
Somewhere along our career path, we start to lose that childlike exuberance for what’s ahead. Many of us grow cynical, believing that what lies ahead will be the same old stuff, or just feel that any real change is beyond our grasp. However, I try to become increasingly reflective, appreciative, and excited around this time of year. It has taken years of conditioning myself to do certain things every year, no matter what, in order to foster this sense of excitement For example:
1. Around mid-November, I start making a list of successes and failures to force me to sit down and think through all that has transpired good and bad.
2. I start collecting work samples to look at and appreciate what we have had the opportunity to do.
3. I celebrate the close of a year with the team before we break for the holidays. We plan as little work as possible that day. We take time to clean out parts of the office in order to be locked and loaded for the New Year. We spend time eating and talking about the past year and what is coming up.
In preparation for the coming year, I ask every member of our team to take a few minutes and talk about their areas of work and their hopes for the company. We discuss our projects – what we did well and continue to excel at, and where we can improve. I then share with them a “state of the union” and detail our goals for the coming year.
I have found that honoring the time spent in getting you to where you are today, learning from both the pros and cons of those experiences and creating excitement and acceleration into the coming year is an awesome step to take with your business, team, or department.
So, no matter if you year was great, so-so, or just sucked – learn from it, kiss it good-bye, and be better prepared for the coming year. Just like in grade school, sometimes the pure excitement of what lies ahead is all you need to fill your tank again and propel you forward.
What year-end activities do you go through?
