I don’t know if you are like me, but often, I find I am at a loss to recall the key lessons learned from past years. Think about it. What were the greatest lessons you learned in business or in life in 2005? What about 2003?
Okay, lets make this a bit easier. What did you learn in 2009?
One tactic that I have found useful is to label my years. I do this while spending a day during the Christmas break or right after the new year reflecting and planning. I review my Life Plan, Business Vision and Business Plan. I spend time journaling through the past year, and work to identify any big lessons learned. Then, once this is done, I use all this information to give both the past and upcoming year a label.
Here is what I mean by a label: I identify what my biggest focus points or new insights were during the year. They are not usually all that profound.
The label for 2009 came from what I really focused on as a leader. The key word for me in '09 was "health." When I began the year, I wanted to work on having a healthier team, a healthy business model and a healthy balance sheet. I shared this with my team, and it became part of our filter for decision-making throughout the year.
As I look back on the year, I am pleased to say that we as a team came together to make this a reality. 2009 will be remembered by me as the year of pursuing professional health. There have also been other years in the past where the theme I began with and the lesson I ended with were two different things!
How about you? What were the key lessons learned or the central theme you want to remember from '09? If remembered, these lessons can help us to make better decisions in the years ahead. None of us want to have to learn the same lesson many times.
If you have not already done so, schedule your day to reflect and plan. Give '09 a label, and pick your theme for 2010.
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Tags: Decision Making, Life Planning, New Year, Reflection
