The new year is upon us and for those that know me or have read some of my year end posts over the years you know I like to use this time to set some personal goals. I am not a believer in New Years Resolutions, but I do think it is a great time of year to reflect and plan for the year to come.
My 2020 Approach
For 2020 I’m going to take a bit of a different approach to my planning. I’m going to focus on some key actions and activities more and less on the outcomes I’m hoping to achieve in the current year. I’m not sure if this will yield better or worse results in my grand plan for my life, but I feel like this is a year that I can try something new and stay on track regardless of the outcomes. It’s a great time to experiment!
I still have my big vision and goals for my life and career that I continue to maintain and update in my three horizon planning template. I think this is a critical first step for anyone to make sure you have thought about your destination.
If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.
-Lewis Carroll
But since I feel like I am on track in my goals, I want to use this year to see how some different activities and approaches work for me.
Personal Goals for 2020
My primary personal goal for 2020 is to become more available and present in everything I do with the hope that I can create deeper and new connections with those around me.
I’m not looking to push my career forward specifically (but if that happens I’m not opposed to it), but rather I’m looking to expand both the size and quality of my professional network, the depth of my professional and personal relationships, and my connections to my wife and children.
2020 is all about relationships.
My 2020 Challenges
This year I am challenging myself to do 6 things differently:
- Regardless of work and personal projects, dedicate my full attention to my wife and children for at least 1 hour per weekday and 2 hours per day on the weekends
- Put my phone and notifications from any device down/away when I am in 1-on-1 meetings at work and conversations with my family
- Have at least one personal conversation where I learn something from someone outside my family every day, whenever possible with someone who is new to my personal or professional network
- Post at least one blog post on Succeed Sooner’s site every month
- Post two updates to LinkedIn per week that are invitations for personal engagement and conversation (in addition to my regular article sharing)
- Engage daily in Twitter conversations related to my experience and expertise in a positive and supportive manner
Some of these I already do to different extents, but I really want to see what this focus on relationships brings with my full attention.
I’m looking forward to seeing the results (and sharing them with you throughout the year)!
Tim Empringham is a passionate advocate for Innovation in organizations of all sizes as a mechanism to drive growth, create uncontested market space, create new customer value, and drive efficiency into the internal organization. His focus is on disruption of thinking and markets through integrative thinking, structured Innovation frameworks, and leadership development of Innovation and Change leaders within the organization.
