Personal annual review

My 2024 Personal Annual Review

“The unexamined life is not worth living” (quote attributed to Socrates)

As we move into a new year, I find it useful to conduct a Personal Annual Review exercise with my executive coaching clients. I have seen this exercise be life-changing on multiple occasions, with people making bold decisions that took them in new directions. In the spirit of “eating my own dog food,” I have decided (once again) to share my own review.

1. What were my wins?

  • Make a list of all your wins from last year and the key lesson you took from each win

Management Training courses.

After 2 years of work, I finally completed recording my full suite of online management training videos. A large component involved my wife Bianca’s image design and video production skills. She makes me look good!

I remember watching a documentary about a team whose full-time job is to paint the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Once they get to the other side of the bridge and have finished painting it, they need to go back to the beginning of the bridge and start painting it all over again. I find myself in a similar position. The training courses we put together 2 years ago are ready to be “repainted” with fresh ideas and lessons I have learned since then.

In the meantime, we passed the milestone of having 5000 cumulative views of the video training modules so far.

Insightful Books.

I read a lot of books and articles. Most of the business books I read this year turned out to be forgettable dross that I discarded after 30 pages or so. There were 3 standouts though.

The Halo Effect. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. It skewers the business media and most of the big-name business authors. I wish I read this book when it was first published. I arrived at the same conclusions myself but could have saved myself years of wasted effort. I urge all business leaders to read this book. You will become a far more discerning consumer of business media. I wrote an article on a related topic called “Survivorship Bias”

How Big Things Get Done. One of my mentors, Wally Bock said, “It’s one of the best books I’ve ever come across about planning and managing big projects.” I agree with Wally’s assessment and recommend it for all business leaders involved in scoping and executing company projects. I wrote an article summarising a selection of my takeaways called “How Big Things Get Done”.

The Pathless Path. This book is about a McKinsey consultant who left his high-status job to set up a lifestyle consulting business for himself and how his life became so much more fulfilling as a result. I identified with his journey, having made a similar decision when I returned to New Zealand in 2020. In hindsight, I should have backed myself and made the leap earlier to “go it alone”. I used to manage a team of 50 strategy consultants when I lived in North America. Now I work for myself and I enjoy life so much more.

My biggest win in 2024? If you are doing the things you like to do, the work itself is the win!

2. What were my losses or failures?

  • Make a list of all your losses or failures, and the key lesson you took from each loss

Accepting mediocrity.

I could have been tougher on some clients. I sent out a survey at the end of the year asking my clients for “blunt and honest” feedback. The core theme I gleaned from the responses was represented by this quote from a CEO, “Don’t be afraid to tell us when we are being mediocre”.

Example 1. One of the management principles that I teach my clients is “Hire slow, fire fast”. Most leaders still struggle with this and tend to do the opposite. I try to goad them, “Why is this person still on your team? They continually perform below the agreed standard. What are you waiting for?”

A knottier challenge, however, is to remove or upgrade staff who might have been a good fit at an earlier stage of the company’s evolution, but it is clear to me they are not the right people to scale the company up to the next level. In hindsight, I have been too subtle, waiting for the business leader to come to the same conclusion as me. I could have sped things up by telling them straight, “This person is holding your company back. Are you willing to accept that? “

Example 2. Some managers are tardy with the way they scope and execute company strategic projects. Vague project scope document with no clear progress milestones? Overdue tasks that keep getting pushed out? I need to be more blunt. “The fish stinks from the head down. You need to set the standard for the rest of the team.”

3. What did I change my mind about?

Think of updating your beliefs as “software updates” for your brain. If you can’t think of anything you changed your mind about, this is potentially a bad sign. It could mean you have stopped learning, or you are not open to updating your beliefs with new information. “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” (attributed to John Maynard Keynes)

  • Make a list of all the “software updates” you installed in your brain

Two is one. One is none.

I’ve never been a flipchart consultant. Everything I do in client sessions has always been on a laptop, with my presentations and client notes projected onto a screen. In 2024, I learned a real-life lesson about the military maxim, “One is none. Two is one.”

I purchased a custom-built high-spec laptop with heaps of grunt for video editing. The solid-state drive failed 1-hour before I was about to facilitate a (virtual) strategic planning session. Fortunately, I still had my old laptop. I raced to set up the other device and was able to deliver the strategy session without the client experiencing anything different at their end. Talk about sweat, though!

The solid-state drive was replaced under warranty. Now, I have these 2 laptops set up as synced clones of each other. What I changed my mind about this year is that when I travel to facilitate planning sessions face-to-face, I always bring 2 laptops with me. It sounds like overkill, but it would ruin everyone’s day if I could not deliver the planning session effectively. Now, if one laptop unexpectedly fails, I could swap them out in 2 minutes and carry on as if nothing happened.

4. What activities, people, or projects energized my life?

  • Review your calendar for the period and list all the things that energized you (work-related and personal).
  • Did you invest enough time in these areas, or did they get neglected?
  • What specific changes will you make to the way you allocate your time this year?

Inspirational Clients.

My clients continue to inspire me. In a tough economic climate, many committed to making bold, long-term strategic bets. After trimming the fat and getting more efficient, these clients committed to big strategic moves like geographic expansion to other countries and/or launching new product offerings. I salute their courage to back themselves when many of their competitors are still hunkered down.

Memento Mori. (Remember you must die).

My best friends are a small handful of people I have known for decades. We don’t all live in the same cities. We’re getting older. One of our group dropped dead unexpectedly this year from a heart attack while he was exercising at the gym. He was incredibly fit, lean, and (seemingly) healthy. Another friend underwent life-saving surgery. Two big wake-up calls this year.

My 3 surviving friends and I have committed to getting together to attend a rock concert (or similar) at least every 12 months. It’s not about seeing a performing artist on stage. That’s just a side benefit. It’s about getting together with friends and creating special memories while we still can. We did it twice this year and I found these occasions energizing and memorable.

The picture above is of me (on the left) with my 3 friends the last time we hung out.

5. What activities, people, or projects drained me?

  • Review your calendar for the period and list all the things that drained you (work-related and personal).
  • To what extent were you able to reduce the amount of time you invested in these areas?
  • What specific changes will you make to the way you allocate your time this year?

Dealing with Dementia.

My mother has suffered a dramatic cognitive decline this year. She had 3 minor accidents in her car (which I own, and the vehicle insurance is in my name – so my insurance risk profile has been trashed). It was almost a relief when Mum was told by her doctor that she could not renew her driver’s license. Not that this stopped her. Mum kept on driving anyway until I physically removed the car and sold it. This did not make me popular!

My sister and I both live in the North Island of New Zealand. We used up a lot of bandwidth this year getting Mum’s clinical needs assessed and arranging her living-at-home support, home cleaning, medicine delivery, and meal delivery. Mum lives alone in Oamaru (South Island of New Zealand) and is adamant that she does not want to leave the house, but it’s probably only a matter of time before other living arrangements will be required. We need her to be safe.

6. Who (or what) are the “barnacles” in my life?

Barnacles are crustaceans that love to cling to boat hulls. The U.S. Navy estimates that unchecked barnacle growth on ships can increase drag by as much as 60 percent. I think of barnacles as people or situations that hold you back from realizing your full potential (work-related and personal). You’re trying to push forward, but they create a “drag” on your life, slowing you down from achieving your goals.

  • List all the people or situations that seem like “barnacles” in your life
  • How can you eliminate or reduce their impact this year?

Hmm. I can’t think of any barnacles that held me back in 2024. Supporting my mother during the twilight of her life has been draining, but it’s a duty of love.

7. What issues do I regret not taking action on?

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality” (Seneca)

  • List the issues you regret not taking action on
  • What reasons did you use to rationalize your inaction?
  • What are the potential benefits if you did take action?
  • What courageous actions will you commit to taking this year?

Probably related to the items mentioned above. Not taking action sooner to prevent my mother from driving her car. Not reaching out to my recently deceased friend more often, just to say hello. Not spending enough time with my surviving friends. I rationalized these things because I told myself “I am busy.”

My number one personal core value is “Health and Family Come First.” It seems like the “Family” part of that statement needs to be dialed up right now.

I do not have a core value specifically related to friends, but another of my personal core values is, “Do the Right Thing.” I’ve made a start with physically seeing my friends more often, but I resolve to be a better friend by doing a better job of keeping in touch in between the times we see each other face-to-face. Memento mori.

8. What do I need to say NO to?

“The difference between successful people and very successful people, is that very successful people say NO to almost everything.” (Warren Buffett). “If you’re not saying HELL YEAH about an opportunity, say NO.” (Derek Sivers)

  • What are you going to say NO to and stop doing?

Public Speaking.

I’ve already significantly curtailed my involvement in speaking events. In the future, I may make exceptions for friends or organizations I have a long association with, but I am not keen to travel to other cities to give presentations to random industry associations anymore. I’ll politely decline.

It’s probably because I over-prepare and the stress I impose on myself takes a lot out of me physically. I have a full book of coaching clients that I love working with, and my calendar for 2025 is full. Financially, I don’t need to get on a stage and speak to drum up business. If the speaking event is not a “Hell Yeah”, then my answer is no.

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“We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.” (John Dewey)

I hope I’ve inspired at least 1 of you to conduct your own Personal Annual Review

For past reference, here is my 2023 Personal Annual Review

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Until next time…
Stephen