Smart phones, watches, computers, calendars and best-of lists have alerted us that yet another year has concluded and a new one has begun. Many use this a natural opportunity to pause, reassess and set the course for the coming year. But before being seduced by a freshly scrubbed, blank whiteboard that tempts you to add more to your organizational priority list, consider this experiment - take things OFF.
Despite his death over a decade ago, Peter Drucker's influence in the world of management persists to this day. His contributions are perpetually relevant, and one aphorism comes to mind as a counterintuitive and powerful insight for this reflective time of year:
Despite his death over a decade ago, Peter Drucker's influence in the world of management persists to this day. His contributions are perpetually relevant, and one aphorism comes to mind as a counterintuitive and powerful insight for this reflective time of year:
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”
Peter Drucker
Your time, energy and literal waking hours in a day are finite. Adding something new means shifting resources away from something else. New goals mean old ones have to go if they want any chance at survival. It's not rocket science ... it's just math.
Do yourself and your company a favor in the new year and reflect on this classic Druckerism. By all means, debrief 2015 and begin making the necessary adjustments for 2016. Dream. Create. Put all of it on a timeline and determine the metrics. Fill up as many whiteboards as you like, just give equal consideration to what comes off of the list as to what gets added.
Questions:
- What will you stop doing in 2016?
- Where resources are being expended that - if stopped - could be redirected to achieve new goals?
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