The Manager - Edition 52 - 2018 Annual Review and 2019 Ahead - by Rob Lambert
Cultivated Management Newsletter
Hi,
I hope you’ve had a cracking weekend and are all set for the festive week ahead.
In this week’s newsletter I’m sharing my annual review and plans for next year - as well as some interesting links as usual. I talk a lot about balancing the Pillars of Life and figured it might be interesting for you to read about how I balance it (or don't), as well as a glimpse in to how my business grows.
My aim is to publish a newsletter like this each year for transparency and, hopefully, some inspiration for you - my readers.
It’s carnage here in the Lambert household though, as we gear up for our Festive celebrations. I’m writing this on a Sunday morning before heading to see "Beauty and The Beast" Pantomime with my wife and three sons. I properly love Pantomimes. I especially love seeing my kids enjoying the art of storytelling.
This will be my last newsletter of this year. My next one will be in two weeks, once 2019 starts with gusto.
Anyway - an annual review.
The Review
I started doing annual reviews a few years back after reading about them on the Art of Non-Conformity blog.
The organisations we all work for typically do annual reviews, and companies often write annual letters to their stakeholders. They need to reflect on the year and then plan for the next one. So, why wouldn't we do this as individuals too? So, I started my annual review process. Initially this was very private, but over the years I've shared more snippets of information.
This year I’ll share some wins and losses openly here with you. As you would imagine, my annual review is split across the Pillars of Life - as I sometimes talk about on the blog.
I will be talking about these much more moving forward in to 2019.
Education
This year I didn’t do any formal structured learning in terms of courses and workshops, but I did read plenty of books. Not as many books as 2017, but not too bad. I’m happy with this level of reading - and associated studying - given the other competing draws on my time this year.
I’m also saving up (time and money) to sit the AltMBA by Seth Godin next year. The 20-day intensive project is designed to get you shipping your work - something I need more help with.
I am also looking at distant learning courses around corporate communication and journalism. I just need to find a suitable course, that lets me balance life and work.
In preparation for the journalism course I’ll be digging out my Teeline Gold book and learning Teeline shorthand again. I did ok with it a few years back, but just got distracted. In 2019 I won’t be doing anything else, learning wise, until I master shorthand.
What are your education and learning goals for 2019? Let me know.
Health and Longevity
This is a big one for me. My health has deteriorated a lot over the last few years, mostly due to stress and the associated poor eating, drinking and lack of exercise.
I tried to rebalance this in 2018 and started the year strong. I’ve ended less than strong. Again - mostly due to stressful work and long commutes.
2019 must be the year I find a routine that works for me. I’m experimenting with lots and will have to find a way. My family and you - my readers - deserve more from me.
Money
I quit my full-time job in 2017 as my health was suffering and my values were being challenged daily. I was worried 2018 would be bad year for earnings - but set myself a goal of earning my 2017 annual salary. I would be very happy with that again.
As it happens I more than doubled that through consultancy, conferences, book sales and various other portfolio incomes. I’m incredible happy and grateful with this. But it did come at a health cost.
I’ve been careful with money this year and will be investing it wisely. My goal is to earn another 50% more than this in 2019.
The company I spent 9 years building the Development team in (NewVoiceMedia) was acquired this year. Not only was that great to go from start-up to acquisition (completing my journey and story), but it also gave a little pay-out that was very welcome indeed.
I’ve also been working with a financial advisor to ensure my kids are taken care of in the future and that my Wife and house are protected should anything happen to me.
I was also a little extravagant and bought myself a new car for the long commutes. As a petrol head it’s the first time I’ve bought a car worth more than £2000. I normally make do with old Volvos. But on this occasional I treated myself to a new car. If you're interested in more behind the scenes stuff - Instagram is the best place to follow me.
My goal in 2019 is to work 6-9 months of the year trading time for money, and then spend the other time building courses, writing more books and helping the community of managers grow. Ultimately, my goal is to flip those time percentages the other way around - so I spend 6-9 months building portfolio income - and the other time spent consulting.
Cultural and Societal Impact
My family mean the world to me, but this year, given the long commute, I spent less time with them than usual. This must change.
My boys are growing up and I’m seeing less of them. I’m often so tired at the weekend that I don’t give my family the “me” they want. This must change in 2019.
My business and blog have had very positive effect on many people, including many of you - my newsletter readers, but it’s not been as wide reaching as previous years. This may not be a problem at all - as my goal is to help people in their careers - not just have the largest number of followers in the world.
In terms of local impact - I’ve been involved in many community activities this year and helped out with PTA volunteer work at my kids’ school.
I’ve done very little for the City of Winchester, the County of Hampshire, or the Country of England - but one step at a time.
In 2019 I hope to impact my local City more by offering free Communication Workshops for job seekers and offering local workshops on Remaining Relevant.
I am also launching my Parent Brain podcast next year, which is aimed at parents struggling to push their career forward or even get on the job market at all.
Effectiveness
This year I’ve been fairly effective at work. I think. I’ve done some conferences and workshops that were highly rated. And I've helped a lot of people through coaching.
As you, my readers, know though - I like to write and publish blog posts, but this year started strong but has been really poor in the second half of the year.
My number of drafts is going through the roof - but nothing is getting posted. :( I need to change this in 2019. I have so much content worth sharing, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to post it. The older I get, the more concerned I am with how people feel about it.
This year I only managed 20 Posts on Cultivated Management. These were only published in Jan, Feb and June. And then nothing else!
Boo.
2019 is the year of finally getting these posts out on a regular basis.
My ultimate goal with my life is build a publishing business that helps people remain relevant, employable and effective. I’m doing this through Cultivated Management and Parent Brain. But it’s never going to be achieved unless I can break this publishing block. 2019 is the year to break through it and share more work with you.
This year I did start a new podcast with Joel Montvelisky about testing. I got the drafts of Zero to Keynote book ready, but then did little with it. I updated and refreshed The Communication Workshop - to great feedback. And I also wrote a new talk called “How to Thrive in Your Career” and delivered it at a couple of events.
Trust in Me
My goal with this newsletter is to create a fun, interesting and learning focused newsletter about balancing the Pillars of your Life, balancing being Effective AND Liked, and then learning how to Release Agility in your organisation.
As such I’m trying to grow this mailing list and ensure you all trust me explicitly.
I don’t get paid by companies or articles to post on my blog.
Any product I do share is because I’ve bought it and used it, and I think you’d like it too.
Cultivated Management participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. It’s an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by linking to Amazon. If you click on a link to Amazon and buy anything - I earn a small commission. It costs you nothing more.
We don’t give out your email address to any third parties.
You can read more on my Privacy Policy page.
Goals for 2019
Here are some of my goals for 2019
Write and publish my “The Squirrels That Ruined Everything” Book
Fix my health by finding a routine that works, eating clean and meditating daily
Take 4 weeks off over summer to spend it with my family
Launch the Parent Brain podcast
Write and publish a new article (and short video) every week on Cultivated Management
Build my presence on LinkedIn to drive more readers to the Newsletter
Publish Zero to Keynote book and open the course to the public
Run 10 Communication Workshops
And some more, that I won’t share as they are more personal. :)
So, not a bad year in 2018, but could have been better regarding health and effectiveness against my business goals. But overall - an enjoyable and fun year.
In 2019 I need to fix my health, reduce stress, publish more (does this cause stress?) and help more people with my work.
I, for one, am looking forward to balancing the Pillars of Life more in 2019. What about you? Let me know what 2018 has been like for you, and what lies ahead in 2019.
Have a brilliant Festive break. I will see you, all fired up for more, in 2019.
Thanks
Rob
My week in pictures
Recording a new Testing Podcast in my home office.
Cool Stuff To Click On
1 - I've started a new Testing podcast with my good friend Joel - it's yet unnamed.
2 - A new way to become more open-minded. My word, we need this in our industry.
3 - McKinsey consulting and helping Authoritarian Governments.
4 - If you're looking to grow your LinkedIn presence, here is a good post on the new features to get stuck in to (also includes Instagram information).
5 - Spaced Repetition or Spaced Effect - the same way to describe a learning process that can be very powerful indeed.
6 - The annual list of the world's worst password on the web. Oh dear - sadly organisations often don't take their security seriously also.
7 - This is not good news - dissenters on boards are often removed. Bad in itself. But when it's a woman, and there are other women on the board, it's even more likely to happen. Worrying insights indeed.
8 - Catch me on the IT Career Energizer podcast where I talk about trading your freedoms wisely.
Thanks for reading this week's edition of The Manager.
Thanks
Rob..