Welcome to fall! If you’re anything like me, you’re wondering how in the world it’s fall already. We’re nearly three-quarters of the way through 2016, and time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future… Anyway, the first day of fall is a great day to stop and make an assessment of what you’re going to do for the next three months. What is the number one goal you have for your personal leadership and for your corporate leadership? Is there an area in your personal life that needs to be addressed so you can move forward in every area of your life? Yesterday we took the time to reflect on the recent past–summer. Today we’re taking the time to ponder about the immediate future–fall.
While one of the dangers of reflection and pondering is that we fail to live fully in the present, another danger is that we are unable to live fully in the present, because we haven’t learned from the past or planned the future. Drifting through life is not an option for leaders, because drifting isn’t leading. On the other hand, dwelling on the past, focusing on the “if only’s” of our lives keeps us anchored to the past and unable to move forward. When I start to walk down the rabbit trail of “if only”–if only I hadn’t made that decision, if only I had built that relationship, if only… you get the idea, my focus becomes the rear view mirror of my life, and I don’t lead. Make sure the if only’s of your life don’t become the focus of your life.
When I look to the future with a “what if” mindset, in the negative sense of “what if” I can also become paralyzed. For example, if I’m constantly asking: What if the economy turns south? What if that decision I made doesn’t produce the results I’m counting on it to produce? What if…the list goes on and on. When I camp in the what ifs as I think about the future that season is not going to produce the results it could.
So, here we are on September 22, 2016, the first day of fall. Have you already planned this next quarter? Have you reflected effectively on summer and gleaned the information from that reflection that has allowed you to celebrate the wins, debrief the losses and glean the information that will allow you not to make the same mistakes again, and recognize that 90% of the quarter was simply showing up and persevering through the relationships and processes necessary to move your life, family and work place forward? If yes, then learn from the past, live today fully and plan for the future. If no, there’s no better time than today to sit down and do a postmortem on summer, and set forth a few plans for fall based on what you find.
Notice I wrote “…set forth a few plans for fall…” My tendency is always to assume I can accomplish far more in a day than I can, but to underestimate how much I can do in a season or a year. Whatever your tendency remember that failing to plan is planning to fail. That reminder has helped me so many times, because I am not a planner by nature. Today and yesterday’s posts are at least as much for me as they are for any of you. When I challenge you with Socrates’ quote about the unexamined life not being worth living on a regular basis that is as much for my benefit as for yours. I want each of us to be the best leader we can be, and taking the time to look back at the end of a season, and forward at the beginning of a new one will help each of us do just that.
Here’s to leading better, by looking forward–today!