Happy New Year! ... now what?

We are welcoming in 2021 with perhaps more uncertainty than any other year in recent memory.

Now what?

What is your intention for this year?

You do have one, even if it is just a default intention that you have not thought about.

Your intention, thought about or not, will tend to drive what you do and therefore what you get during 2021.

Is it... ...to survive? ...to keep doing the same stuff? ...to do different stuff? ...to change in some way? ...to learn something? ...to fall in love? ...to move on? ...to grow?

What is it?

It seems to me that your intention is your starting point for the year, so it is worth thinking about it.

Giving it some thought is better than just leaving things up to chance don't you think?

So, grab your favourite drink and sit for a while to contemplate your intention for 2021 and the things you can do that might coax that intention into reality.

Goodwill to all

Thank you for reading my weekly missive. I hope it has been of some help during these most strange, and for many, stressful times.

Instead of me writing a tip for you, stop for a moment and think about what you most need to hear right now.

What could someone say to you that would help you the most?

Close your eyes and imagine a calm voice full of certainty telling this to you as you sit and listen with acceptance.

How do you feel?

Now, what do those around you need to hear from you right now?

Let’s all be here for each other now and over the coming year.

Stay safe and well ?

Become a friction hunter

An organisation pays people to get things done. We sometimes forget that.

Hopefully, your organisation is focussed on doing the right things via its vision and mission, and has figured out a strategy that will work to achieve those.

To execute the strategy, people need to do the right things – and do them right.

As a manager, one of your jobs is to remove the friction that slows or stops getting those things done right. Friction is always there but you can reduce it.

Look at the list of things your team is tasked with doing. Where is the friction?

This is especially true now that COVID has changed so much and probably created even more friction. You and your team must become friction hunters.

What friction factor will you hunt down this week, before Christmas?

What friction factors will you put on your 'destroy' list for the New Year?

By the way, resolving friction involves change. Here are some tips you will need for change.

Phony innovation won’t work

The call for innovation is stronger than ever. Have you heard anything like this?

“We must innovate in these times of change because now, more than ever, we need operational excellence!”

Operational excellence is excellent because there is no failure; innovation is about doing things in a new way, so there is an inherent risk of failure. Indeed, one innovation mantra is ‘Fail fast, fix it, and try again’.

The fear of failure usually wins, and people end up doing something a little different that carries minimal risk. True innovation is sacrificed at the altar of fear and change is slow.

Do you want change?

Do you need change?

Where are you playing it safe?

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of old ones.” John Cage

Here is a five-stage innovation process for you.