Using the New Year as a Springboard

January 1st is one of my favorite days of the year. I always wake up on this day feeling like I’ve hit the re-set button, ready to jump into all the possibilities of a new year! I also feel refreshed because I’m not a big New Year’s Eve person, and most likely just had a good night’s sleep — I inherited my dad’s proclivity to be “HBT” (horizontal by ten)! On New Year’s Day, aside from a long walk to clear my head, and checking in on a few college football bowl games, I opened a fresh new notebook for 2019 and jotted down a few goals and themes for the year ahead.

Delivering on our Purpose

In 2019, Waters Corporation is embarking on a year that provides more promise and opportunity than ever before as our products and people reach higher to help ensure better and more cost-effective medications, higher performance materials, safer food and more exacting clinical diagnoses. In a time when truth and transparency seem harder to come by, our purpose is grounded in delivering the best advanced analytical technologies possible to help our customers gain the information and confidence they need to truly enhance human health and well-being. With a growing global population and rising standards of living, as well as increasing consumer demand for greater access and quality in medications, food and products of all kinds, the world is demonstrating an unlimited appetite for more and better measurement of the most rigorous kind. That’s where Waters excels... and delivering on this purpose is what excites me about walking through the front door of Waters each day!

Leading with Innovation and Culture

We’re entering 2019 with a sense of optimism about the impact our signifiant innovation transformation will have in the market. We are investing purposefully to increase the pace and productivity of new product development in instruments, informatics and chemistry ... especially as they combine to create new industry-leading system solutions to help our customers achieve more. We are also investing heavily in our people and leadership culture; I’m thrilled to see our values-centered, purpose-driven employees all over the world working together to Deliver Benefit faster and in bigger ways.

 Setting Higher Expectations

With clear market opportunity and confidence in our strategy comes higher expectations. This year in particular, I’m expecting more – both of myself and those around me. I expect all of us at Waters to continue to raise our game by exceeding expectations in all aspects of our business, and doing even more to help our customers succeed. 

 Keeping it Simple

When it comes to my personal goals this year, I’m taking a “less is more” approach. In fact I just completed an interesting read on this theme, “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” by Greg McKeown. I am as guilty as anybody for trying to take on too much – and I’ve committed to making sure I am focusing on what is truly essential this year. More time on bigger topics, less meeting time. More people time, less screen time. More thinking, less clutter. You get the picture.  

It's a new year, and that means it’s a whole new ballgame. New opportunities, new market shifts, and new possibilities. Today there is an opportunity — not tomorrow, not next week, but now — to get started on the best year ever! 

 What is your New Year’s motivation?