By John Capuano, Partner at Simplicity Lone Beacon
Now’s the time that we’re reflecting on the outcomes of 2024 initiatives and committing to 2025 objectives. Let’s remember that new initiatives take time. Too often we see people lose patience or get distracted and scrap good plans too quickly, start a new one, and get stuck in that vicious cycle. Making things even harder is the learning curve of technology, which is tied to virtually everything and influences our own expectations for instant gratification.
So, as we roll into 2025 with aspirational change in mind, there’s plenty to consider. But remember, that the one immovable, unstoppable element is 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. Here are 5 things to consider to make the best out of YOUR time:
𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲. Our world is complex enough. Start less and finish more. We rarely add more than one or two new big initiatives per year. And a lot of times our initiatives are about continuing to improve ones that we started years ago.
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀. Don’t underestimate challenges…and don’t underestimate the ability of your people to overcome them. We usually map out 70% of our plans knowing that we’re going to want to make game-time changes around challenges.
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄. The building blocks are the things that will get you to your outcome. We need to be relentless at nailing the benchmarks. The little things that might seem lightyears away from your goal are the keys to actually reaching your goals.
𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆. Reaching a building block is a huge deal, and a lot of people around you might not appreciate the accomplishment. We even celebrate a lot of setbacks because we know they’re a part of the journey. Think about the journeyman golfer who makes it to Augusta National for the first time…it takes a few tournaments for even the best players to make it to the weekend rounds.
𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲. As great and as essential as it is to hit benchmarks…the outcome is all that matters. Otherwise, we’re wasting our time. So those who can look at the little things and the big things at the same time will always fare better.
I hope this might help you fight through the challenges and be a bit more successful when it comes to your aspirational outcomes. Cheers to a great finish to 2024 and remember that hitting our long-term aspirational goals is a series of sprints in a mega-marathon.
About the Author: John grew up in Schenectady, NY & received a scholarship to Norwich Academy. He began his broadcast management career at WOR, learning spoken word marketing from the best in the business with a specialty in financial and long form. John managed broadcast sales for some of the best-known sports teams in the world, at the most legendary stations. However, his true passion is in the world of direct response advertising to baby boomers and their parents. In this space, he has worked with some of the best brands in America. John lives in Boston with his wife, Melissa who is also a broadcast executive, and French Bulldogs Lou and Sal.
