In today’s minisode, our final episode for 2024, we are going to cover the five big themes from 2024 that are going to be vital in 2025. 

These five themes for me are growing; I'm seeing them emerge more and more through the work we do with executives and boards. And what I'm seeing is if we don't all lean in and get better at these five things, life is going to get more difficult and frustrating and we're going to find it harder and harder to win. Life is so full now – I don't meet anyone who hasn't stacked their day or their week or their life literally all the way to the edges and probably beyond.

Chief, the best executives right now are nailing this while the rest of us are on a bit of a hiding to nothing. No-one's looking at you like you're some top executive; they're probably looking at you the other way around. What's more, all the best organisations need people with these five traits right now, more than ever, so here they are, in no particular order.

Curiosity

I think that this could well be the most common trait from CEOs on the podcast. It is just so, so common. And I'm hearing it again. I just interviewed a guy called Ben Marsonet the other day for the podcast (will be released next year!). Ben is the CEO of the Altus Group, Australia's biggest traffic company. He went from being a traffic controller to the CEO of a rapidly growing business with private equity behind them, doing seven or eight acquisitions in the last year. And how did he do that? Insane amounts of curiosity. 

We had Jeremy Hastings on the podcast this year. He went from being fired in his role to coming back and being CEO again. And what happened? He got curious about himself, about his mind and his brain and his own personal psychology. And he grew out of it.

We had Carolyn Creswell, the owner and CEO of Carman's Kitchen. And she asks herself every day, “What are you learning today?”

We had Fabian Calle, Managing Director of SAP Concur APAC. Fabian is one of those beautiful, quiet, introverted style leaders. He's a guy that has really brought within his own self that theme of know thyself as it will set him free. He's also the Australian Brazilian jujitsu champion, which is just incredible because here he is in his late 40s, absolutely shooting the lights out, continuing to learn and grow in new areas.

We had Natalie Cook, the five-time Olympian, and she spoke about the ecosystem that drives the pathway to a gold medal, and how that ecosystem always has to be curious and learning.

So Chief, in 2025, the lesson has got to be dial up your curiosity. Say yes to things, ask questions of peers, educate yourself. Don't never wait for HR to educate you, educate yourself and grow by asking questions of all sorts of people. So that's number one thing.

Creativity

This has been growing and growing, and I'm really fascinated by where this will go, because even now, we are seeing a lot of businesses and executives outsource their creativity and give it to things like AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Make no bones about it; the one thing AI can never do is have that raw creative spirit that makes us uniquely human. It can't connect to things that are so out there and different and connect dots in ways that we just have in a creative way. It can do it in pure logical sense, but coming up with something new and daring, different and amazing, that's just purely human creativity, and AI can't do that. So that's a way in the future that we will have to stand out.

Now, to tap your creativity, you have to give it time and you have to give it space. And so, if all you're ever doing is filling your brain with new information and new data and you don't have any sort of creative output, that is something you've got to re inject into your life, because creativity is just a wonderful human trait.

Think about all the amazing things we see around the world and the creativity that is required to bring that to life. Creativity has always been important, but I think it's going to become more and more important as we progress.

Focus

I have noticed over the last seven, eight years, a building up of executive overload. We all love just saying, “Oh, I'm so busy right now.” I know we are, but it's a cop-out. Being busy does not mean you're being effective. Saying that to people actually says you’re not really in control of your priorities.

I've heard it more and more on the MiniMBA too. In fact, I’ve heard people talking about it more than strategy and priorities. When I go away with executive teams, I ask this exact question: “How worried are you that the leadership team or the executive of the business is drifting away from core business?” And the eyes of everyone around the table just lit up. They're like, “We are so worried that we're leaving core business behind.”

Core business is what your organisation was built around. You've got the skills, the expertise, the market position. You've got the whole engine of supply chain and people and technology to deliver that. But every time you move out a circle away from that and go to something that's not quite as cool, where maybe you don't quite have the capability, the systems, the technology, all the customer base, it just raises risk and effort and, probably in ways you're not even really aware, it's eroding profit margin or the quality of your output. So you start taking your eyes off core business and all of a sudden core business starts to suffer. And this is really, really common.

And it's the same at an individual level. Because we are really hurting our brains with just social media overload, we're becoming a bit scatterbrained and now we're just overly busy with stuff that just isn't really that effective.

So, I feel like focus is a linchpin that is just so important to be able to remedy overload. Make it your goal in 2025 to just not simplify but focus. Get a little bit more dialled in on just a few things, stuff that will make a difference. Make some hard calls.

That is something at Chief Maker we've done this year actually really, really well, and it has made our lives a lot easier. And because we focused in a bit more, we removed a ton of work out of our business in the back-end. And what's happened is we then focus on the stuff that really counted. And now we've actually grown and done more business more quickly for less effort and that is just, the be all and end all kind of outcome we all want as leaders and as individuals. I feel we are actually focused on the right things that are aligned to our values and we're not really spending time on things we don't want to.

Personal brand and reputation

This is about H2H (Human to Human). Your reputation enters the room before you do. Your email pops up on someone else's screen and immediately they're like, “Ah, I like getting email from that person.” Or, the opposite is true. “Oh my god, what a pain in the ass.” 

People have a concept in their head of what you're like to deal with. You have to get to this position in business where people go, “That person solves my problems. They're reliable. They're outstanding. They're excellent.” Becoming a master or an expert or finding some excellence in your work makes life so much easier. It builds reputation, makes delivery easier, and gives you more flow at work. But it's that genuine connection, where when you meet me, you're not trying to get something out of me.

I hope when people meet me they go, “Greg's really just trying to help me out. He wants me to be successful.” That is the mindset I take to every meeting. “How do I help this company make more money? How do I help this person get promoted to a better job? Make their life easier?” And if you do that, no matter who you meet, then I absolutely guarantee your reputation and your personal brand will grow in a fantastic way and opportunities will come out of absolutely nowhere.

Building your personal brand is not so much about just posting stuff on LinkedIn and Instagram. It is far more important to make it the experience people have in dealing with you. And as we go forward as executives and professionals, we need to become uniquely valuable so that we don't lose our value in the market. Relationships will be key. They will be so, so important.

Energy

This relates quite a bit to focus. You have to become the Chief Energy Officer at work, because what I'm finding now is people are exhausted all the time. They're not getting enough sleep, they're overloaded, there’s children involved, and you get into some days and you're just cooked. And the last day seeps into the next. By the time you get to the end of the week, you're just totally toast. What that means is by Friday afternoon when you walk in the room, the spirit and the energy you bring doesn't lift anyone else.

Think about what it's like when you meet someone and somehow they give you energy. They make you feel good. They inspire you to do something. What is it about them? Sometimes it can just be that smile, that interest, the storytelling. Anytime I'm meeting with other people, that is my performance centre. It is time to bring the energy. So Chief, make 2025 your year of being the Chief Energy Officer for those around you.

That's it, Chief, for 2024. We come to a wrap. I hope you've had a wonderful year and I hope it's been successful for you.

We wish you a very, very epic Merry Christmas.

Greg