Future Focus

Just one that was tough to schedule – a couple of time zones over and me not wanting to give up part of a beautiful summer weekend for work travel!

Half-awake, half-asleep in the back of an Accord, pitch black with the radio on much too loud, a commercial came on promoting a business retreat.  It’s focus: “Let’s End 2024 with a Bang.”  Or something like that, remember it was just barely 4 am.

It sure sounded great. Afterall I had been working to launch my new business, grow my clients, and continue to enhance the services I provide. Ending the year that was full of slog with a bang got my attention.

And, as I thought about the commercial on a couple of flights traversing a couple thousand miles that day.  I became convinced that it let down the very leaders it was trying to help. 

No, now is not the time to be thinking about successfully wrapping up 2024.  Rather it’s the time to secure success in 2025. And beyond.

Delay has its costs. Let me give you some examples.

Delay means lost revenue.  The annual nonprofit fundraiser – the money raised is important.  So is the profile achieved, the contacts made, and the messages delivered.  And they always run behind.  The theme is developed late, the sponsors don’t get secured, the invitation is delayed at the printer, a staff departs at a poor time, and the list goes on.  It means that outreach to new audiences is limited, ticket sales are slow, seating is done last minute, and leaders and staff begin to dread the idea of doing it all over again next year.  The resulting feeling: “Money was left on the table.”

Delay means lost opportunity. Over lunch with a potential client, we discussed organizational expansion.  The CEO suggested he wanted to complete the expansion by the end of 2025 and inquired about when the work should begin.  My answer was straightforward and honest, “Now.”  The conversation was quiet for bit. Good opportunities do not often come along and others will step into the space if you do not.

Delay means staff lament. Near universal feedback in the many staff surveys and assessments I have conducted over the years is that staff want more timely communication.  But if we as leaders don’t schedule it directly into our calendars, including time for preparation, it doesn’t get done, key opportunities to motivate staff are missed, and the staff lament continues.

As leaders we are so busy, even consumed, with the present and near term that its difficult to be focused where we need to be – the future.  It’s a cycle.  Sometimes a vicious cycle. A difficult cycle to break.  A cycle that inhibits our success. A cycle that needs to end.

How?

Like every problem, challenge, opportunity, or hope we confront as leaders it takes us. We need to:

Prioritize future focused work.  It will be difficult, it will require discipline, it will take more time before it takes less, and it can be done.  Using whatever organizing strategy you use, put the future focus items as the top priority.

Find the tools that keep us future focused.  Maybe its Plan of Action templates, Visioning documents, or Goal Development systems.  A coach of mine offered up Crayola crayons and blank white paper.  It was more effective that I ever thought it would be.

Assure future focused accountability.  Is it via our personal commitment, an executive coach, a strategy partner, performance goals, or some other way?  Is your Board strong enough to assure this? Some tactic that makes it not okay for our future focus to slip back into the day-to-day busyness.

Adopting and adapting these strategies will support your success.  Starting now will give you the time for contemplation and conversation, research and reflection, pausing and planning so the your future focus creates future success.

I hope as you wind down your summer you find some time – on that airplane trip, at that picnic table, during that workout, or over drinks – to focus on the future so that a year from now you can celebrate with the Bang that early morning radio commercial was promoting.

If you are leader and want to learn more I invite you to