Spring means different things for different people. In Arizona, it means we are already about to see 100-degree temperatures—we tend to skip spring and go right to summer. Meanwhile, as I’m writing this, my friends in the Midwest are snowed in.
However spring looks where you live, we generally think of this season as a time of renewal and repair. In a recent podcast episode of The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday posed a powerful question, “Just a few months ago we were thinking about our resolutions, right? What do we wanna start doing in the new year? What are we gonna stop doing in the new year? What kind of new person did we wanna be in the new year? And I think it’s worth thinking about, like here, almost all the way through the first quarter of the year, like how did you do?”
A 2023 Forbes poll found that about 65% of resolutions fail within the first four months of the year, and only 1% said they lasted the whole 12 months.
So, what do we do when we inevitably find ourselves in this same situation? Holiday goes on to paraphrase his favorite stoic, Marcus Aurelius, “When jarred unavoidably by circumstances, you have to revert at once to yourself and don’t lose the rhythm more than you can help. You’ll have a better grasp of the harmony if you can keep going back to it.”
Less than a year ago I transitioned to a new credit union. With that came new ideas and plenty of ambitious goals. We worked with our board and senior team to develop a vision of where we want to be, then worked with our team to plan initiatives that would carry out effective change. We rolled our plan out to our staff, and it was well received. A few days later I spoke with one of our managers to get her feedback. She stated she thought it was great, but also said honestly, “But we’ll see if we can stay focused on it.”
Just as we tend to abandon our personal resolutions, organizations also tend to lose focus on our strategic priorities. It’s no wonder there are skeptics in our credit unions. Stuff happens that shifts priorities. Our attention fades. Communication decreases and we lose interest in what was once important.
Here are some ways that we are working on getting out of that cycle.
- Be consistent: We continually reference our strategic pillars and initiatives. They show up in daily conversations, and we celebrate small wins. Strategy Delivery Teams meet regularly to measure progress and keep momentum alive.
- Be accountable: Each Board meeting includes updates on our initiatives, ensuring our Senior team remains accountable. We also report back to employees and invite their feedback.
- Be inclusive: Strategic initiatives fail when people farthest from the issues try to design the solutions. We create opportunities across the organization for involvement in shaping and executing our goals.
- Be flexible: Plans rarely unfold exactly as imagined. We stay committed to our goals but flexible in how and when we achieve them. Some organizations rush to complete every initiative before the next planning session, only to abandon good work prematurely. Not everything fits neatly into a calendar.
As we reach the three‑month mark of 2026, I encourage all of us to reassess where we stand—both personally and organizationally. Let’s take Marcus Aurelius’ advice and not lose momentum. We have big things to accomplish. Let’s get back to work.
