2006 – ANOTHER YEAR IS IN THE BOOKS
Please forgive me for straying from the normal format for Steve’s Corner, but with the end of the year at hand, I wanted to visit a little about the past 12 months.
I recently heard political and sports pundit George Will speak in amazement at the popularity and power of the “blog” movement. He said; “what makes these people think that anyone cares about their opinions?” Good question. I am always amazed at the comments I get from my little exposes. Who knows, maybe it’s the sense that there is now a forum for the little guy. There is a place where ideas can be exchanged on a global scale. I don’t know, but thanks for reading.
“Now time is a demon, it just keeps movin on. Too quick for the old. Too slow for the young.”
Vance Gilbert
The thing about time is that it is really all about opportunity. The opportunity to notice things, to take advantage of moments, to learn from a fleeting instance, to embrace a flash of meaning. The problem is that is seems to rush past us like a spring engorged river. We never know what is important and what’s not. It makes time a cruel master to which we all must answer.
So with the grains of 2006 dwindling and the new sand of 2007 getting ready to be added to the hour glass I would love to visit about what happened and what is getting ready to unfold before us.
2006 was our best year since 2000 in terms of revenue’s, successful projects, engaged ideas and substantive, measurable impact. During our Fall strategic planning meetings on Padre Island we took apart every project, education session and presentation, looking for patterns, impact points and repeatable successful acts. It’s a great exercise for “seeing” things for what they are, a series of connected actions. These connections are often at the whim of disguised cause and effect. Without a process of examination, you miss the connections because they are separated by time and space. This activity has allowed us to create our 2007 strategic platform of:
BENDING: The ability to take a trend or successful project from one industry and find ways other industries can take strategic advantage of the idea. It is “bending” an idea to fit a completely separate model. We have already taken emerging customer service trends from the food and beverage industry and “bent” them to fit a client in financial services. Bending will be a big player in a world producing new ideas and trends faster than any time in history.
NARRATIVE ARC: This initiative is all about the power of storytelling. If you are looking to take advantage of best practices, simply design a platform that allows those practioners to tell you a story, the story of their success. Most organizations have a ton of metrics to measure success on a quantitative level, but they lack the ability to discover the intangible aspects of a successful office or sales professional. Creating a “narrative arc” develops a true systemic form to building impact and discovering Repeatable Successful Acts (RSA’s). We have developed a powerful Narrative Arc platform that has already provided a foundation for three 2007 client projects.
We are a small company and our clients are also our friends. I work with people that I deeply respect and I am always learning, EVERY SINGLE DAY. We exchange information, ideas, successes and failures. It is my dream company and thanks for your help in making it a reality.
On a personal level, there is no way I could do what I do without Laura who is my constant source of inspiration. The success of 2006 meant I was on the road, A LOT! She keeps my ship pointed to the right horizon.
I don’t know what 2007 will bring, but rest assured, there will be scores of opportunities.
So, here is what to do:
- Pay Attention: Things are happening all around you.
- Slow Down: Speed is not the goal of life.
- Simplify, EVERYTHING: The world will try its best to pull you towards a rip tide of complexity. FIGHT IT.
That’s it, just three little ideas. Anyone can do 3 things.
May 2007 bring you the grace of good decisions, the hope for a better world and the blessings of family and health.
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