Research shows that most people have abandoned their New Year’s Resolutions by now.  I’m even worse.  I haven’t made mine yet!  Life has been so busy the last few months, I haven’t yet finished my typical annual review and set my goals for the year.  So I’m doing that now.  And as I do, I’ve been reflecting on a few stories I heard this past year that illustrate the power of small wins and how they can help me (and you) when it comes to things like setting goals, becoming the person you want to be and retiring now with version 1.0 and then iterating and improving.

Story 1: When it comes to service at their theme parks, Disney very rarely focuses on the grand gesture. Instead, they do a whole bunch of little things right.  And they do those little things so consistently and reliably, that they end up translating into a huge thing for their customers.

Story 2: Open AI created the artificial intelligence software Chat GPT.  Each new version of the software has seen a huge leap in capability.  When asked about this, Sam Altman (the CEO) said that none of their giant leaps was the result of a big technological breakthrough.  Instead, they focus on making small tweaks and improvements to their current version and those changes eventually come together in a “sum is greater than their parts” sort of way that results in a huge leap in overall capability.

It’s tempting in life to set the huge goal or make the big change.  Sometimes that’s helpful if it allows you to break free from routine or create a “burn the ships” mentality.  But those types of goals also have a huge abandonment rate because they require so much effort, consistency, willpower and commitment.  So consider instead, the option of setting a small goal or focusing on tiny improvements.  The Japanese have a word for this: Kaizen.  It means continuous improvement.  You just try to get a little better today than you were yesterday.  You make tiny improvements over months and years and, over time, those add up to huge change.  

So yes, I’ll probably make 1 or 2 big goals this year, but mostly I’m just going to focus on getting a little better each day.  At work.  In my marriage.  As a dad.  In my faith.  With my friends.  With my health.  How about you?  How is 2024 going so far?  If you want it to be a big year, think small.  Don’t underestimate the power of small wins.

Be intentional,

Joe

Quick personal update:  A few of you have checked in with me because I haven’t written much lately.  No worries!  Everything is great.  Last year just got particularly busy (e.g. sending our daughter to college, moving, transitioning into our empty nest phase, running a growing business, traveling, etc.) and my writing schedule suffered a bit.  But I’m back at the keyboard, so expect more soon.  Small wins.  🙂

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