As I write this in December, we’re on the cusp of passing from one year to the next. Though there’s no lull for us at Hive – in fact, it’s one of our busiest times of year – this always prompts reflection.
Right now, we’re also facing an avalanche of negative news at every turn. It’s hard to know if this is part of a strange supply and demand cycle (are we, as flawed humans, feeding the need for bad news stories?), or if there’s an intentional permafrost of fear. Even in the dental industry, there are reports that practice valuation multiples might drop to 5.5x for associate-led practices.
The two things combined (one of which is rather gloomy) puts me in mind of an exercise I used to run on leadership retreats, adapted from an approach by psychologist Jordan Peterson.
To begin with, take around 30 minutes to write down what would happen in the next year if you let your bad habits continue unchecked. These might be small things like self pity (a personal favourite) and not planning for the week, or larger issues like putting off important decisions. Each will affect your business outcomes and the position you’ll be in at this time next year.
Next, take 30 minutes to write down what would happen if you didn’t let these things get the better of you. How might things pan out if you made small changes for the better?
There are countless things happening beyond your control on a local, global and industry level. But this needn’t be the overwhelming “reality” that it threatens to be. There are also massive improvements that you can make to your business and life outcomes.
The key is to focus your energies on what you can really control and change. And when you’re thinking about this, bear in mind that habits are better than goals. One simple (and seasonally appropriate) example of this is Dry January. In relative terms, it’s an easy challenge: short term and with a finite end date. However, what do you do next? Well, you might pat yourself on the back, you might go and celebrate with a Guinness, you might even find yourself celebrating more given your achievement. To bring this back to a business context, you may be able to set yourself an incredibly high standard and keep it up for a month, but when things start to slide, you may be back at square one very quickly.
Imagine a patient that had never brushed their teeth and had horrible hygiene. In an ideal world, you would recommend brushing thoroughly twice a day, flossing, not eating between meals, and taking more water and less sugar (among other things). But will they really do it? Highly unlikely. Now, I’m not sure what recommendation would give you the biggest bang for your buck; brushing? But would they end up in a better place if they could keep up that habit forever, rather than a few weeks of optimal practice?
To give another example, a few years ago, myself and a group of friends agreed to run 200k during January and finish the month with our first marathon. Having this goal made it exciting, and we all felt a huge buzz as the month went on. The downside? After this, it was about six months before any of us ran again. We felt we’d done enough, and we were out. Yes, our goal was ambitious and made us feel great, but we’d probably have been better off building the habit of running a less impressive 10k per week, all year.
It’s therefore better to create a healthy habit that will help you reach your business goals, rather than simply setting the goals in isolation. Realistically, I’m not going to run a marathon a month, as that’s too much of a leap from where I am. Like the nightmare patient, nor am I going to be able to completely stop procrastination, frustration, and strategic fogginess. Fundamentally, it’s not about the big gestures; it’s about small tweaks that will improve your outcomes over time.
Among many of my clients and colleagues there’s a shared habit of safeguarding a small amount of time (say, an hour) on a Sunday afternoon to plan for the coming week. I take this opportunity to go through my emails and calendar for the week, and to schedule my time. I can then relax in the evening with none of the usual Sunday blues that come from wondering what you’ll face in the morning. This small action means that I feel more confident going into the week, and its impact is massive.
As with all good habits, consistency over time yields far better results. If you have a daily habit of exercise, maintaining this at all costs (even if it’s a ten-minute walk, rather than a half-hour run) keeps that habit alive.
So, this New Year, why not think about what you can do? To loosely quote Jordan Peterson, ‘everyone is Noah, and everyone has the flood coming’. Bad things will always happen and difficult times will inevitably come, so build your ark. Get yourself in the most robust position possible. Create the system to be effective and enjoy your work.
There’s no denying we’re in a time of turmoil and change, but if we look back through history, it’s plain that this is nothing new. We’ve faced it before, and we’ve come through it before. So, if I can offer one tip, it’s to make your small place in the world better. By tackling little changes and building healthy habits, you can create a positive impact on your business and life for the entire year to come.
