Back in 2017, we wrote an article called How to Try New Things Without Burning Out and Going Broke. In it, we discussed the idea of the Hudson’s Bay Start - a test run on any new project. The Hudson’s Bay Start allows you to verify that where you are spending your time, effort, and money makes sense - and that you didn’t forget your socks.

We have always liked to think of that time period between the start of the calendar year (January 1) and the start of the lunar year (February 12, this year) as our own annual Hudson’s Bay Start. As we mentioned in our January newsletter, there is a whole lot to recover from coming out of 2020. We needed that time.

We’re now a few weeks into the Year of the Ox, and we hope that you’re starting to feel a bit settled with your direction for the next 11 months or so. You, hopefully, have an idea about the direction that you want to take your business, and how you’re going to get there.

That’s going to take a lot of leadership: an incredibly important skillset that often feels like a “three steps forward, two steps back” ongoing process of learning. There are so many different ways for us to show up as leaders, and each new situation gives us deeper insight. That’s why, this month, we wanted to share with you our thoughts on Recovery Leadership.

Recovery is our theme this year, and each month we’ll be working through the ways recovery shows up in your business. Leadership - whether you’re rolling solo or working with a team - is vital to your business. Understanding what it means to be a leader, while you and your business are recovering from a crisis (or multiple crises) means spending a lot of time understanding yourself.

Sandy Gunn of the Don’t Be a Jerk at Work podcast definitely has wisdom to share in this arena, and has provided not one but TWO great guest articles for your reading pleasure. Leadership Starts With You asks important questions about how you’ll be facing the year ahead - and gives some guidance on how to think through it. Being Flexible About Flexibility focuses on the significant shifts that have been made in the way we work since the pandemic started, and what that means for you as a leader.

Once you’ve had a chance to read through Sandy’s and our thoughts on leadership, we’d love to read about what you’ve learned as well - why not share the experiential wealth? Find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We can’t wait to hear from you!