Success is equal parts reaction and reflection, according to bestselling author James Clear, and 2020 has been a watershed year for both of those things. There have been unexpected hurdles, times to check in on what really matters, to reassess our goals and look towards a hopeful future.
In the final issue of our magazine for 2020, we asked some of our industry leaders how they found the past year, and what they’re looking forward to in 2021.
2020 in one word?
Interesting.
Give us some highlights?
Professionally, we needed to pivot. Our focus was finding the safest and most effective ways for our staff, agents and clients to operate in the new environment.
I shifted my ideal week and day from the traditional model that I’ve been using for the last four years to a more fluid model.
I am a person who needs routine, and my routine needed to be adjusted.
I was no longer driving and travelling as much as I once was, and this was replaced with more outbound calls and Zoom meetings.
I increased my focus on mentoring and coaching, with a greater emphasis on regular contact with our management and sales teams.
I shifted from working in the business, to on the business.
It was about contingency planning, and I like to use the 3, 2, 1 model.
Planning for three months from now, two months from now, and one month from now.
What will you leave in 2020?
Our model and our business were far more COVID-19 ready than we realised.
We had cloud-based systems in place, and our workforce and systems were already remote-ready.
I will be travelling far less in the future with the use of technologies like Zoom.
What worked for you in 2020?
Keeping everybody focused on the day-to-day activities.
Forgetting about what we couldn’t do, but focusing on what we could do. Working within the legal confines of what we could do.
What’s your focus for 2021?
We will focus on greater flexibility for our staff and their working arrangements.
I will have more contact and more check-in points with the team as we will be working with greater flexibility.
My plan to stay on track will be mixing a blend of old and new working patterns.
Technology and the shift we have all made this year has changed how we work moving forward.
