When Do You Reset?
By: Randy Wolken, President & CEO

Year end is here. For many, it is the end of the fiscal year as well. Inventories are being tallied and financial books are being closed. The rush of holiday activities adds to this season making it a busy time. For many, the year can end with exhaustion and an empty personal energy tank. It is an easy trap most people fall into.

When an organization and our personal lives are on treadmills, it is easy to get burnt out and even cynical. We need to find rhythms for us to slow down, reflect, reenergize, and start anew. I now use the end of the calendar year to take stock of my year, outline next year’s goals, and reset. Why? Because in January we are back at it and there is little time to reflect and chart a better course.

The great organizations I know develop a rhythm that allows their people to reset so they can excel again. Just like the equipment that needs maintenance, they provide for the personal maintenance so their people can start the new year refreshed and ready to do great things in the year ahead. We need seasons in our businesses just like nature has seasons of the year. When we do, the newness brings a change in perspective and an opportunity to see our world differently.

Did you know that CEOs world-wide have identified creativity as the number one desired job skill? It’s true. How do we encourage creative people? We help them take the time to reflect on what is and pursue what can be. But, they can’t do this if we are asking them to run fast all the time. Building periods of reflection and resets into our daily, monthly, and annual calendars are essential to being creative and increasing value to our families, our businesses, and our communities.

Are you scheduling time for you to pause, reflect, and reset during the year-end hustle and bustle? What would you need to do to make this a part of your hectic schedule? How can you help others do the same thing? How is your business pausing to look at its performance and resetting its goals and activities? What can you do to encourage it? These are all important questions for all of us as leaders. Put this set of questions and your answers on your holiday gift list to yourself and those you care so much about. It will certainly put a smile on everyone’s faces!