Reflections Archives - EM Solutions

Looking back to plan forward Part 2

It is always said that the best way to keep focused while driving forward and looking through the windscreen is to keep an eye on the rear view mirror for the lessons learned.

As the year winds down, this week we will take a short journey through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2016.

The first exercise is to rid yourself of any guilt that you may carry into the festive season and holidays.

Make a list of all outstanding issues, programmes and unaccomplished tasks that you have been meaning to get done with this year.

This could include simple things such as replacing the kettle to setting up your new website or carrying out office renovations. This list is your ‘Parked’ list. We are not throwing these items out, just parking them to identify them as not yet fully addressed.

Too often we set our sights on a task that is outside our main focus and when reviewed it just seems not urgent anymore. Now is a good time to kill these babies and get back on track. Go back over them and cross out any that are no longer relevant or required.

For the issues left, mark them with an A or C – A being those that are important and still needing to be done this year and C being those that can wait until next year.

Then take the afternoon off. Just by doing this simple exercise, you have already gained enough motivation to get cracking on any outstanding issues.

By nbmedia|2016-11-01T10:20:17+02:00November 13th, 2015|Reflections|0 Comments

Looking back to plan forward: Part 1

This week we will take a short journey through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2016.

The first exercise is a simple one but so many people neglect to do this each year let alone each day. Take time to pause and reflect on your achievements. Make a list of all the highlights that both you and your team have achieved throughout the year. Go through each month, pull out old notes or your diary and make a celebration list.

Once you have exhausted your achievements, jot down, next to each item, the reasons why you achieved these. What was the catalyst or mechanics behind each one? What we are looking for here are the cogs that turned and engaged that resulted in success. This is the real learning here, to understand what was done to achieve the results you experienced. When you are done with this, share these with the team and chat about what went right and what went not so right this past 12 months.

Celebrate the victories and learn from the failures.