The new year is well under way.

​I started writing this a week ago as a reflection on the year that just finished. For many reasons, it has been pretty interesting… or maybe the right word would be unbelievable, or better yet, ineffable. I’ve been looking for a reason to use that word for some time and 2017  provided it.
In any case, it is over and done with.  Let’s move along.

From a personal-professional perspective, I pretty well know what the new year will bring. As I did in the year that just ended, I will teach some interesting college classes to some partially motivated students, deliver seminars and conferences to groups of amazing and motivated entrepreneurs and help business owners and managers create strategies to promote their products and services and reach their own goals for the new year.
Some would say same old same old.

Nothing could be further from the truth. With respect to teaching; the principles that I am conveying may stay somewhat constant from year to year but the people I am teaching to is what makes the process interesting.

It is no surprise but it still fascinates me how a fairly simple concept can be perceived in so many different ways by different people. The challenge is finding words and ways to explain in such a way that all will understand.

Seminars and conferences are interesting in their own way since they provide immediate feedback from people in the business. The arguments from attendees are quite different than those provided by students. They come from a different place. Students need to understand in order to pass their exams. Entrepreneurs need to understand to generate more revenue.  

The consulting work is most fascinating of all. It is when ideas are applied and the result is seen first hand and in real time. Feedback comes from the intended target audience who either love it or not. Marketing and communications campaigns do not provide a second chance. Social media campaigns move incredibly quickly, hopefully for the intended reasons and with the intended results. Or, they move at a snail’s pace which is generally not what was intended at all.

​The one constant is people. None of what I do is possible without people. Everything I do depends on people.
 
I learn by teaching
I test and confirm by speaking to entrepreneurs and getting feedback
I apply with my clients.
And I start again.