This year has taken a lot from all of us in varying degrees. At the same time it’s also given us 2020 vision, certainly for me it has. And we've all learned that uncertainty is super uncomfortable. I always like to ‘do business’ with the past year before I make plans for the next, somehow I find a little certainty in looking at what’s gone well and what I’ve learned.
I do know that a year ago I didn’t have my YouTube channel, my Podcast on Spotify or a new fire in my belly to help business owners all bundled up in my vision for The Growth Code. The time to sit down over lockdown and re-evaluate my vision and exactly how far my blue dot has veered off course has given me that 20-20 vision. In some ways, I'm grateful for that.
So what about the lessons that we can take forward into 2021?
Have you had to pivot, have you had to find new ways to serve your audience, be more creative communicating? I’d love to know, I’m always inspired and intrigued by the creativity of business owners and entrepreneurs. Do drop me a message with your story, hey maybe you can join me on my Podcast to share.
As for me, here’s something I want to make into a bumper sticker (or the 2021 equivalent of a bumper sticker, it’s not a tweet is it?)
“It’s not working (yet)”
Note the “yet” in parenthesis.
Let me explain. Have you ever noticed that as creators, entrepreneurs, artists, we are brilliant at experiencing failure in advance? This is something I have genuinely had time to reflect on and learn from this last year.
Rewind... I was thinking about fishing. I used to fish with my dad on the mighty Zambezi river and go trout fishing at Nyanga growing up in Zimbabwe. Have you noticed how fishing is always about the catch? Well, we’re so focussed on outcomes just like the catch and it’s been indoctrinated in us... we need to get an A on that assignment, do well in our exams. And now in our business lives we need to hit those KPIs, be on the best seller list, have 10,000 views of our video. Catch the biggest trout. Whatever the case maybe, there’s this laser focus on the outcome.
Before we’ve even launched that product, before the video has gone live, I don’t know about you but I start getting hung up on the outcome and if it doesn’t live up to my expectations I see it in advance.
But what goes into that launch or video, that new product, book? What goes into the catch? Just like with fishing you have to tie your lures or get the right bait, rig your hooks, you need to chose the right spot, have the right technique for casting, enjoy the scenery and the outdoors. Aren't all of those things just as important as the catch?
Sometimes you blank.
The next time you’re disappointed with an outcome or you've blanked think about Leonardo DiCaprio. If winning an Oscar was the only desired outcome he based success on, he may have given up before we got to enjoy the Wolf of Wall Street!
We have to get to grips with doing what we do, trusting ourselves and that what we do isn’t for everyone. In fact, I’d argue that some people need to hate what you do, your product, your creations in order for someone else to love it. And that’s ok. Fishing isn’t for everyone either. If your outcome is for everyone to love what you do, maybe the outcome is wrong. Marmite is the best example in the world of this and they turned it into a marketing campaign that has become part of our culture. How cool is that, they embraced it.
Feedback is important of course but just because the outcome isn’t what we want or envisaged doesn’t mean we’ve failed. I look at web developers when they're not getting the right outcome and there’s a bug in the code, they look for the problem hunting it down line by line, try a fix, test again. The process of bug fixing is impersonal. Now that’s definitely a philosophy I really want to take heed of and work more into my process next year.
If you’ve launched a marketing campaign and it’s not quite worked did you get frustrated, want to throw your hands up in the air? Maybe a headline needed adjusting, the audience you’re aiming at wasn’t quite right. If launched an offer maybe there was a piece of the puzzle missing to make it irritable and it needed tweaking. We all too often thing something has failed, put it on the pile and move onto the next shiny thing. Well, it’s not sustainable. Wouldn't looking at those outcomes as things needing bug fixing be a healthier way to deal with it and move forward?
It’s funny, this 2020 vision has also made me realise that we do have this one precious life and if we’re just running around like crazy people chasing outcomes are we spending it on the stuff that matters? Whoa, that’s deep. I think it’s important to look back at your wins, celebrate them, acknowledge what’s gone well and how you’ve grown. That way we really can set goals or outcomes that are worthy of our precious time. I get that the start of this decade hasn’t been what any of us planned, we still have the rest of it to make up for it.
So what’s your year in review?
I get that’s such a tough question so break it down. What have you done that you’re most proud of? What obstacles have you overcome? What are some of the results you’ve achieved?
When you look over those questions and have a think, I know you’ll sigh and think wow, yeah I did do all that. I hope that something jumps out at you as really important to you so that you know where to focus for the next year or the rest of this decade. Only chase the outcomes that are worthy of your precious time.
When you’re setting those outcomes for yourself, just remember the thorny little creatures they can be. I know as a business owner, creator of things you can get so sucked into that clean slate of fresh starts and a new year. Use your 2020 vision to set goals and hold the side of overwhelm by knowing what’s important to you and focus on that. What is the most important goal or project you’re committed to (not just interested in) for the next year? What’s the big payoff? Why is it important?
Setting goals is just as much about creating ones that excite us just as much as letting of ones that don’t. If 2020 has taught me anything, things change and are completely out of our control, we can either flex and bend to it or snap. There’s plenty I’ve let go of this year and I’m looking forward to setting down those rocks so I’m not carrying them into 2021.
My takeaways on a postage stamp!
What we do or create isn’t for everyone, that’s ok and we need to focus on the people that are the right fit.
If something doesn’t hit the right outcome (yet), look at what can be tested, adjusted and fixed like a line of code.
Make sure the outcomes we do have are right and worthy of our precious time.
Let go of the little stuff.
Whoa, this really did dive deep into some reflection. Luckily I’ll be taking a little break over the holidays now but bet your lucky dollar I’ll be back in January with all sorts of content just for you. I'll be sharing the concepts behind my 'Three Halves Method' and 90 day success planner so that you can start the year as you mean to go on. My wish for you is to make up for everything this year may have taken away and make it extraordinary in the best way possible!
