Day in and day out, as business leaders, we make strides to run an efficient and effective business. As individuals we also take steps to becoming a better version of ourselves. We attempt these upgrades by building routines into our everyday lives both at work and outside of work.
The challenges come when the routines are shaped around one set of dynamics or environments and then those change. Let us explore through an example to give some insights. On a personal level you may have started out 2021 with great intent to take better care of your health and become more physically fit. You began a running routine that started out small and grew to a couple of miles each day around your neighborhood. The scenery and terrain were pretty consistent each day you ran.
Then you visit friends in another area away from your neighborhood but still want to keep to your running routine. You get some input from your friends as to where you might run and map out the trail. Your routine was being preserved even when you were away from your normal situation. At least your routine of running was the same which is a great start. You start out on your morning run and find that after the first couple hundred yards you are feeling a bit more winded. Then it dawns on you. Although the routine is the same the landscape changed. You are running up a slight incline and rather than on concrete the trail is loose gravel. The altitude is also higher in elevation. Small but impactful changes in your environment were causing your routine to be challenged in new ways.
2020 inserted many new challenges into the routines of running a business and our personal lives. These changes made many if not all business and individuals to make some kind of pivot or adjustments to realign with the health concerns, customers’ needs, personal needs and governmental impositions placed upon businesses and social existence. These adjustments were like running up hill or trying to get solid footing on loose gravel pathways.
As we move forward in a rearranged landscape in 2021, we need to relook at ourselves and the businesses we lead. The conversation is that people just want things to go back to “Normal.” Unfortunately, normal is a moving target. Everything moves in some direction. In the course of time everything changes. So possibly start with dismissing the idea that some day in the future things will again be the same as prior to 2020.
This week challenge yourself to be open to looking at the way your organization has realigned to the changes. Some of these are actually improvements. Some of the changes that were compelled upon us will in the long run simply be evolution to changes which were already in motion. They were just accelerated in 2020 to accommodate the pivot society had to make. You need to look at your people and how their roles and contributions have changed. You need to look at your business processes and procedures and how they have changed or need to be updated. You need to look at the way you lead your organization. It is quite possible that you need to upgrade your capabilities to be a better leader moving forward.
At JKL Associates we are firm believers that everyone can benefit from a third-party guide to walk along side of each of us on the path of success. Now is the time to start that “Promise Guide” insights relationship. Give JKL Associates a call at (313) 527-7945 in Michigan or (407) 984-7246 in Florida. Or go onto our calendar below and schedule an initial meeting which works best on your busy schedule. JKL Associates looks forward to continuing to build relationships rooted in “Purpose.”