It has been an absolute privilege to share reflections with you (mostly) every week in 2024. Thank you for reading, sharing your thoughts, and providing feedback.
As the year draws to a close, I wanted to share ‘5 things I had to confront in 2024’ as my final newsletter for the year – perhaps offering some inspiration as you reflect on your own year and plan for 2025.
- You will never have the time to do anything; you must decide and create the time. Everything else will fit around it. You also can’t do everything, so choose wisely. This was my experience with the UNLEASH Leaders Program – something I created out of ‘no time’, but the decision led to prioritization and making time.
- Structure is the most important thing you can build. The things you desire are within your reach, merely awaiting your structure to unlock them. There is a strong link between operational excellence (structure) and business growth. Too many times we permit chaos because we don’t understand that structure can be monetized. I plan to share a lot more on this in 2025.
- It all starts and ends with great people. Invest time in building the team that aligns with your vision, not just your current state, because you’ll need that team to get you where you want to go. Understand their strengths and position them accordingly. When hiring mistakes happen, acknowledge that it’s not just their poor performance, but also your poor judgment. Act swiftly (and humanly) to correct it, including firing, if needed, with appropriate compensation. Don’t’ settle – keep searching until you find exactly what you need.
- Stress is your friend. Maximize your relationship with stress by identifying the stressors and committing to creating systems to prevent them. This is a mega hack for mental wellness in 2025 – you’re welcome!
- Play – a lot. We talk a lot about hard work, and it is important. But play is equally vital; it’s not the opposite of work but an essential “add-on.” PLAY is the glue that binds any relationship—professional and, especially, personal. My best moments in 2024 included play, even amidst intense activity. A playful culture is an innovative culture.
There you have it! I look forward to reconnecting in 2025, where I plan to share more insights and reflections on emerging opportunities in high-growth sectors, the link between operational excellence and business growth, and cracking the people code, among other things. What topics would you like to hear about? Please feel free to drop me a message!
In the meantime, I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and an awesome 2025!
Yours in possibilities,
TKO
P.S. Give the gift of UNLEASH to your mentees, friends, and loved ones with the UNLEASH Christmas offer: For every copy you order on the website, you get a free copy. Offer runs till December 26th. Free shipping starts from December 28th to 31st. If you haven’t read UNLEASH or downloaded the free VISION Planner, there’s no better time to do so than now as you prepare to win in 2025!
Amazing 😍