We are fully into the holiday season … it is time to close out the year, spend time with friends and enjoy the moments that matter with family.
At some point over the next six weeks you are going to reflect on 2017 and set goals for 2018. I am sure your goals will include a mix of how to develop your team, improve customer engagement, and grow share and drive shareholder value … as I know mine will. That said, I am going to start with, and build a detailed plan to achieve Better Balance.
To get you into a Better Balance mindset, I’ve included a portion of former Coca-Cola CEO Brian Dyson’s 1991 Georgia Tech commencement speech.
‘As intelligent and active participants in a dynamic society like America, you must bring balance into your lives. Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them — work, family, health, friends and spirit — and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.’
Where I love to build, contribute to, and be part of a winning team, I have justified winning at all costs throughout times in my career and the cost has often been friends and family. If that sounds familiar to you, I welcome you to take on the same challenge that I have given myself.
Set a two year plan for the four glass balls that you want to achieve en route to 2020. What moments will you create with your friends, parents and children? Which trip will you finally take? How will you invest in your health to enjoy more of those moments beyond 2020? And how will you ensure your spirit is in line with your actions and ambitions?
When setting goals, the overly ambitious part of me usually kicks in; trip to Napa with my wife, go to five different football stadiums with the boys, build my daughter a two-story princess castle, etc…but I recommend you set many simple goals that can build over time. As you do them repeatedly, they will be deeper and richer connections as you work toward your 2020 goals.
My Better Balance commitments for the next 12 months are below. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to share your commitments and to hold me accountable to mine!
Family: Weekend morning coffees with my wife, weekly baseball, basketball or football time with each of the boys, and whatever my daughter wants, pretty much whenever she wants it. Weekly phone calls to my parents and in-laws. I am sure my Mom will hold me accountable to this one! I suspect what will come out of this could be the family trip, Green Bay in December, etc…but I want to start with small, simple, rich actions.
Health: Continue on the journey my wife and I started 5 years ago which includes healthy eating with balanced fun, teaching our kids through our actions the benefits of putting good things into your body, and as the kids get older, incorporate them into our training, where it makes sense for them.
Friends: For the friends in Arkansas this is easy. Friendships are growing fast, and it’s a great time, so I will stay on the train. For friends from previous locations or homes, when I travel, I will reach out a week in advance to see if any are free for something as simple as coffee or dinner or a ball game.
Spirit: For my spiritual wellness, I will continue to live my purpose which applies to both my personal and professional life, and building things that will grow. {Things} can be relationships, teams, businesses, etc…with integrity and fairness as the core values.
I hope this inspires you to take a different view on your goals for 2018 and beyond, and to get you into a Better Balance mindset.
John Ozgopoyan
*Vice President of Sales – Household, Walmart – Reckitt Benckiser
*Title and company of the author reflect their position at the time article was written.
The opinions expressed here by guest bloggers are their own, not necessarily those of Stout Executive Search.