Last week, I marked my ninth year at Rapid7. For those who know me well, this is kind of amazing. I’ve spent an entire career in hypergrowth companies; joining when they were small, and helping to build them quickly and with soul. When I joined at the start of 2011, I was eager to partner with our growing team, but set the expectation that I would help us build until we hit a big event (IPO, got acquired), and then I would move on to the next one. When that day came in the summer of 2015, I kept my word. I had given notice, and we started looking to replace me. This had nothing to do with any dissatisfaction with the company; I just accomplished what I said I would do, and I thought I was being true to my word. Obviously, I stayed. I work for an incredible boss in CEO Corey Thomas who said exactly what you say to someone like me. Ultimately, he laid down the gauntlet of “Great job helping us get to this place...but help us reach a few thousand people, still have it be a great place to work, and then you can claim victory and walk away.” Challenge accepted.
To stay and continue to find meaning in my work - and offer a meaningful contribution back - I needed to find motivation in my work, (actually, in pretty much anything I do) or I knew I might become lazy. That would be the kiss of death for both me, and my job. To avoid this dynamic, rather than making new year’s resolutions, I sit down and contemplate what new things I’m going to learn and contribute in the upcoming year. I work hard to create a win-win situation for both the company and myself. Over the years, this planning has provided me the opportunity to do all sorts of things contributing to Rapid7’s unique culture and sustainable awesomeness, including helping to redesign workplace experience, launching an innovative rotation program and participating on the team who produced an epic global kickoff. And that was just last year.
It’s not lost on me that at this point in my career, I am in a position to create and drive more than most people. However, I wasn’t always. In other words, we are all capable of carving out true meaning in the work we do, and ultimately creating the work experience we all deserve to have. And yet at nine years in, I would never have guessed that I would be more motivated and passionate now than I was when I joined. I’m fairly convinced 2020 is going to be my best year yet. Want to share that feeling with me? Here’s the quick roadmap.
REFLECT BACK ON 2019
If you are like me, you powered through both wins and fails throughout the course of last year. Awesome. Those milestones provide us with some insights on how we should take on 2020. Taking the time to celebrate what we did well is fantastic. It’s important to take stock of your accomplishments but also to reflect on why they are meaningful to you. Conversely, and maybe more importantly, it’s also critical to understand where we can improve. It’s certainly easy to fall back on simple excuses like what your boss didn’t let you do, or why you might not have received that promotion you believe you so deserved. I challenge you to do the hard work of asking yourself the difficult questions. Do you have regrets? Do you understand the obstacles you faced? Did you have unmet goals and an understanding of why you didn’t achieve them? Did you zoom out and do this with a holistic lens on your life outside of work to understand contributing factors? (e.g. It’s unlikely you are crushing it at work without also finding success in the other big areas of your life - mental and physical health, relationships and social well being, financial stability, etc. It’s all interrelated). If overall you had a good year, wonderful! Build on that for this year. Or did 2019 fall short for you? Take stock in understanding what you want to improve this year, and get specific about it. Extra credit assignment? Elect a theme to last year. If you could summarize 2019 with one word, what would it be? And then select a new theme for what you want 2020 to represent for you.
By taking the time to reflect on the past year, you are creating the opportunity to find gratitude for all those things that went so well. You are also creating the space to understand what needs to improve. While it might be far more enjoyable to celebrate the good stuff, it’s only when we understand what’s getting in our way and what we need to improve on that we can set ourselves up to have the best year ever.
GOALS VS. RESOLUTIONS
We’ve all heard the dismal statistics on the actual realization of New Year’s Resolutions. And if so many people fail in their achievement, why do so many people make them? I’d rather focus my energy on setting goals I can measure and achieve, rather than delude myself into the wishful hope of a promise to myself. Resolutions = ongoing promise. Goals = specific achievements tied to a specific date. In short, almost like wishing for an outcome vs. taking control of it.
A resolution might be: I’m going to commit to increasing my learning about my field in 2020. .
This is quite vague, and not measurable at all in terms of tracking progress.
Rather, a goal might look like: Each week, I commit to reading one book or listening to one podcast and taking notes on the highlights.
Because this is more measurable and clear with a specific outcome and timeline. As a result, you can track progress each week, and will find it easier to achieve.
BE AUDACIOUS
Sure you can pick a goal or two to focus on in 2020, but how about really challenging yourself to achieve something that really pushes you? Goals obviously focus on progress and timeframe, but adding an extra bit of boldness can really aid you in leaning into big breakthroughs. Building off the initial learning goal and adding something like “Each week, I commit to reading one book or listening to one podcast each week on leadership, and at the end of the year, I’m going present to my team on a synopsis of everything I learned” might be the push you need to make an even bigger impact on your development.
MEASURE IT
Keeping track of your progress to hold yourself accountable is vital. Whether it’s daily or weekly, find a rhythm that provides you visibility to what’s allowing you to find success. Perhaps you notice that when you carve out time every morning to commit, you fall into a structured pattern of success, but when you skip that time, you never make it up. Check boxes, task lists, placeholders in your calendar...everyone has their own method for tracking. This is totally personal. Just choose a means of measuring you will stick to, and learn from. When you hit milestones, pause and congratulate yourself. When you hit bumps along the way, recalibrate. You’ll get there if you are truly committed.
I’m convinced 2020 is going to be my best year ever. I’ve got new focus areas, and plenty to work on and learn from ahead, and I’m in the process of organizing how I will approach it all. There is no magic to this formula - we are all capable of achieving extraordinary things. Just dig in, focus, and commit!
Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator.