Halftime With Kelly Merbler
Halftime!
The magical January 1, 2020 arrived with so many people gushing with optimism and fired for the best year yet. For many, the New Year ushered in a time where dreams became reality, new businesses were launched, new careers began, and goals were freshly inked on paper.
Little did we all know what was ahead, let alone how the world would change forever. The New Year’s celebrations seem like forever ago — that’s a huge understatement!
If I were to give 2020 a word to represent what this year so far has been, I would choose the word “change”.
Change and adaptability have been critical for me as a business owner. In fact, the very survival of my business has hinged on my willingness to change and adapt. My business would have tanked if I chose to sit back once the lockdown was ordered. I made the decision early on that I would not allow myself to adopt the strategy of “riding out the storm”. I had to take quick action to change how I approach my work and adapt to what the new norm had become.
If I wanted to continue to run a successful business, it became clear that I had to be innovative and get out of my comfort zone. It was at that point I took all of my service offerings and relaunched them onto a virtual platform. It was difficult, but it has paid out big dividends many times over.
Yes, it’s hard to believe that we have arrived at the halfway mark of the year. I typically would use this time to pause and reflect on where I am versus my plan for the year. It’s the proverbial halftime and it is time to get into the locker room to make your adjustments.
I love a good football game and watching a good game gets me fired up, but what I really love is a good comeback when a team is down in the first half.
Let’s go a little further on the football analogy… this year we have to think very differently. Many of you are down points at halftime and it appears those goals you established for 2020 are moving further out of reach. It’s not going to happen! For the many of you, this can be the comeback of the century, but we have to be intentional going into the second half of 2020 with a new game plan. This can mean resetting your plan for a job search or shifting your business plan.
We are all being challenged to lead in these unprecedented times and it is time to have that locker room conversation where we reset our mind and come up with our second-half game plan. You can do it!
Here are my top 3 Locker Room tips to help you during this mid-year reflection:
Change the goals. I said it — be nimble! On a macro level, it’s clear the business world has changed. Your goals need to adapt through the change. Don’t stress over what your big vision was for 2020. You should at the very least review your goals being that so much has changed since January. It’s also time to sit down and write new goals to begin working towards for the rest of this year. Your mental health is too valuable to carry that much stress in attempting to accomplish what is irrelevant.
What will you change? This may be the most important question you ask yourself (or your team) moving forward. Be realistic in your selection and what you modify.
For those of you leading teams, it is important as a leader to involve your team in addressing this question. This should be a team discussion where you get everyone involved. By the way, your “team” could be your family, friends, or a group at work. Ask your team what they think would help in the comeback for the second half of the year. If we involve our team in the process, they become part of the change and feel that their opinion matters. It doesn’t mean that everyone’s idea will be executed, but it allows your team to come to the table with ideas they may have to be heard that may make your comeback stronger.
Celebrate the wins you have had. Although it may not feel as if you have won much the first six months of the year, it is necessary for us as leaders to take a pause and reflect on what you accomplished so far. Make time to discuss with our teams what has gone right even in the worst of situations. In my business, I have a choice to look at it two ways: “I lost so much revenue and momentum because of COVID-19 so I will just take this year as a loss overall and work towards 2021”. Conversely, I could approach the second half by looking at it realistically: “I lost serious momentum in 2020, but learning how to pivot my business into the virtual speaking world has brought me such amazing opportunities and allowed me to reach audiences all over the globe because of this time”.
How we decide to come out of the locker room will set us up for the second half of 2020.
It’s your decision. Pause and reflect during this time and re-evaluate what you need to do to come out strong and fighting. The greatest victories have occurred in the second half, so make this your moment and remember that what you do with it matters.
I believe in you.
Kelly