It’s hard to believe, but Q1 is OVER. How’s the year going so far? Have you had a chance to look back and reflect on the first three months of 2023? If not (which is totally understandable), we suggest carving out an hour or two to review your goals for this year and see how reality is stacking up. And if we may be so bold, we also recommend revisiting the way in which you go about setting goals in the first place.
Most of us are great about using the start of a new year as an opportunity to set strategic plans for our businesses and make some personal resolutions - but most of those aren’t intact after a month or two. As we said in the Army, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. In a culture filled with OKRs, KPIs, and AOPs, it can be really difficult to broaden our thinking and look beyond this month or quarter. To be clear, we believe in having clear and measurable targets. We understand that benchmarks and guideposts are great ways to stay motivated and determine if we’re on track. However, we believe they are insufficient for doing the two most important things that leaders are responsible for, especially during uncertain times - setting a clear vision and making difficult decisions. To do those things, we must be guided by something more substantial.
In 2019, I adopted the practice of establishing a theme for the upcoming year. Some may call it an intention or a mantra. My skepticism of all things “woo-woo” led me to choose a different word, but regardless of your preferred term, it really seems to work. In both personal and professional matters, I’ve found that having a clear theme helps me to set purposeful priorities, adopt positive behaviors, and limit distractions. My theme can reorient me when things get nuts and encourage me to be patient when I’m frustrated. More than anything, having a theme helps me to stop pretending that I can plan everything out in perfect little steps and Just. Let. Go.
Joseph Campbell said that “If you can see your whole life laid out before you, it’s not your life.” Let that roll around in your mind for a few minutes. I’m not sure what that means to you, but I take it as a call to focus much more on the direction I’m trying to go and much less on each step along the path.
Themes are deep commitments that can guide us when making proactive decisions or responding to unexpected circumstances. We need something to lean on when life isn’t going according to plan or giving us all of the information we need. So what do we do when we come to an unplanned fork in the road? I like to start by asking a simple question that sounds something like, “Is this consistent with my theme?” or “What would be consistent with my theme?” Once I run a decision through that simple filter, it often won’t require much further analysis. We typically have a good idea of what we need to do, it’s just sometimes hard to do it…so we belabor the process of deciding.
We can never be certain that we’re making the right call, but we can usually tell if it feels right. That gut feeling is coming from somewhere. It may be rooted in something like your values:
What is important to you? Who do you want to be? How do you want to treat people?
It could also be rooted in your theme: Does this move us closer to our goals? Is this a distraction from our core objectives? Is this consistent with what we’re trying to build here?
And what’s truly amazing about this is that we can very easily share it with our teams. When everybody is armed with this kind of clarity, your organization’s ability to solve problems, serve customers, and seize opportunities goes through the roof. You can’t create a flowchart or checklist that covers every possible scenario your people will have, but the good news is that you don’t have to! When a leader can articulate and demonstrate themes and values, teams tend to follow.
So please, keep setting goals and building project plans, and establishing budgets; those things are important and will definitely help you manage your business. But before you do that, take some time to pull up a level and think hard about your theme. See if you can find a word or phrase that will set the compass for you and your team. You might be surprised how the other stuff more easily falls into place.
P.S. - In 2023, my theme is “Enthusiasm.”
I only want to pursue and prioritize things that I am passionate about.
As important, I want to embrace and be enthusiastic about the “ordinary” parts of my life.
This one word helps shape my attitude, gets me back on track when I’m meh, and provides a wonderful filter for assessing opportunities.