Why You Need a 'Word of the Year'... Even if it feels cheesy!

Does it feel a little cliche to pick out a “Word of the Year?” Yes. It does. But, I’m doing it anyway and you should too…. here’s why.

As an Advisor it is SO easy to get distracted by all the shiny, interesting things. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve laid out your perfect, well-crafted business plan… and then it happens. You hear a speaker drop some amazing knowledge at a conference and you get back to the office and add this idea to your business. Or maybe you jump on a mastermind call with some peers and an advisor friend shares a marketing strategy that has worked for her… and then you get back to work and add this idea to your business too. You essentially abandon that perfect, well-thought-out business plan because you get distracted by new and interesting ideas! 

Does that feel familiar? Or maybe even more familiar… these ideas just get half fleshed out,  added to a “to do list” and never fully make it to the “done list".  At least that’s how I rolled in the early part of my career. 

I NEVER had a shortage of ideas; marketing activities to try, ways to improve our planning process, interoffice systems to finetune…. The list goes on and on!

My team dreaded me coming back from any type of training event. I know they were bracing and preparing for me to say “Guys, I have some amazing ideas I want to implement!!!”

***Over time I figured out how to keep the shiny objects as “possibilities” for my business, but not as a distraction to my main goals. 

There are two things that I did.

The first was; I figured out how to identify what I wanted to do and developed a system to go get it done. One that allowed me to pivot, but not get distracted. I am going to share that system with you in upcoming podcast episodes. 

This is my system for setting up and knocking down goals like it’s nobody’s business… just 10 minutes at a time. Take a listen if you have a hard time figuring out what to do next in your practice or if you haven’t found a good way to set & accomplish goals that really move the needle and actually accomplish them!

The second thing I did was figure out a word for the year. I’d carefully select this word and use it as a basis for all of my decision making. It became the North Star that guided me. Often, it was a word for how I wanted to FEEL in my business. Or, sometimes it was a word that described how I wanted to show up as a business owner or leader. 

I often see advisors pick arbitrary GDC goals, production goals, or revenue goals. The downside is, unless they are tied to a strong WHY, those business plans hardly get looked at after maybe February 3rd!

So instead, I propose you pick a word that reminds you of all those beginning of the year motivational feels that you had for your business. 

For example, one year my word was FREEDOM. I became an entrepreneur, like you, for the freedom and autonomy that running your own business provides. I wanted to cut back my hours so I could be a more present mom and doting wife. I started with cutting Fridays. 

If an opportunity popped up, I’d look at the Word of the Year that I had printed out and on my bulletin board. If this opportunity was on a Friday or meant that I might have to work a Friday to catch up for the time that this opportunity took from Monday thru Thursday. It was a NO. 

If the idea or the ask was something that was going to impact my goal of feeling freedom… I knew by saying no I was honoring the way that I wanted to feel. I didn’t want to feel overwhelmed, rushed, or stressed. 

Your goal might be to feel more calm. More organized. More whatever. Less overwhelmed! And then you use that as a barometer for all of your amazingly fun, interesting, shiny ideas! 

Or, you might pick a word that defines how you want to show up in your business this year. Maybe this is the year that you are sick of having all of these baller ideas half done so your word might be FOCUS. Or maybe your word might be GROW and your decisions are all compared against the idea of “will this make me grow?”. Maybe it’s grow your business, maybe it’s grow your own personal acumen, or maybe your leadership skills. Some other words I’ve used in past years are Expand, Resilient, Accelerate, Perseverance, Fun, and Bold! 

For 2022, my word is IMPLEMENT. For me, restarting the Efficient Advisor means there is a TON to do. Again, I have no shortage of ideas of allllll the ways I want to help Advisors on their journey. But, just like in my practice, I have to pick the few that I feel mostly strongly about and IMPLEMENT. I can’t help anyone if I don’t do the thing!

The other meaning of IMPLEMENT for me this year is I know part of my calling is to help advisors implement too. I know you. I know you’ve got great ideas but not enough time to get them done and perfected. I’m going to help you filter, decide, and implement those ideas this year; so you can move forward and feel the way you want to feel in your business next year!

So, I invite you to “implement” with me, or to create your own Word of the Year.

I’d love for you to share yours in the “Word of the Year” thread in our Efficient Advisor Community! Check out that post to gain inspiration, get accountability, and inspire others. 

Bring on 2022!