REFLECTION

We don't learn from experience....we learn from reflecting on experience...-John Dewey

Year #2017 has been a challenging year full of mixed emotions across industries…In the corporate world, each industry has gone through/is going through unprecedented levels of #disruption, #digitization, and a rapidly increasing need of the speed of change.

As I reflect back, below are some of the lessons that have contributed to my learning:

1) THIS IS THE AGE OF FLUX

The traditional ways of doing things no longer apply. Learning begins by continually challenging, testing and evolving assumptions. The only constant is you and being effective in the face surrounding uncertainty requires you to truly understand your strengths and weaknesses first.

Life is too short to not maximize the opportunity of each day. Sometimes it means I will make a mistake, but trying and taking a risk has become more important to me in hopes of having a positive impact on others or my company.

2) TOPSY-TURVINESS WILL RULE

“Control what you can control.” Chaos wins when we’re distracted. Step back, organize, and prioritize.  It’s just as important to think in the next two hours as it is to think in the next two years. After all, if you can’t execute today, tomorrow is going to be even more challenging.

3) SPEED MATTERS!

The biggest innovators today are rapidly pushing their businesses and boundaries. It starts with how you organize your work, your processes, your team, and your day. Complexity spawns complexity. You have to simplify to accelerate.

4) NEW GENERATION WILL BE SERVED.

Whether your goal is recruiting, innovating, or selling, start by paying attention to where younger generations are playing and interacting. Understand where, why, and how they’re buying and selling. Then you can take those insights to learn, adapt, and react. If you don’t meet that market need, someone else will.

5) COLLABORATION

A great team is fundamental in any business. No leader can do everything. It takes all kinds of brains and diversity to solve and win. Start by understanding what only you can do and then purposefully delegate the other challenges to individuals based on what will help them grow in their career. Empowerment, diversity, trust, and transparency are needed now more than ever.

6) MISSION SUPERSEDES MARKETING

People won’t put in 100% day-in and day-out for something they don’t believe in. That makes #mission and purpose the ultimate engagement tools. The best part is every #company has one.

Start by asking what’s the vision everyone shares?

7) LEAN FORWARD & get the 20% IMPROVEMENT instead of waiting around for the PERFECT 100% SOLUTION.

Waiting on the perfect solutions can be arduous and often decrease your ability to make improvements today. Why not capture the 20% improvement you can realize today by making a smart move and then work on the next 20% that might take a couple of months to get in place? If you are still trying to create the perfect tool, process, or system 6 months or a year from now then you’ve wasted that same amount of time on the organization that could have benefited from your 20% better solution. I’ll take continuous improvement any day versus a “one and done” approach that often leads us to a check box mentality where we forget to go back and audit whether our changes really accomplished the goal.

8) NETWORKING.

I really have enjoyed doing a deeper dive into professional networking this year. It has provided a lot #opportunities to learn from some great minds and build some unexpected friendships.

I plan to continue #networking in 2018 in search of becoming a better #leader and helping others as best I can.

Wishing you a very #Happy #2018.