Do you find yourself thinking “how is it 2022 already?” Time is relentless and the older we get, the faster it seems to tick along! We've been thinking a lot about how we frame up our reality. How we see and perceive the world we live in these days, and how we lead well with all that is swirling around us.
We talked a lot this past year with our team and our clients about a concept from the 1980s called VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.
VUCA seems to be the very definition of how it feels to run a business these days. So much is outside our control, and yet we have the opportunity to keep making choices to move forward and lead well so we can help our clients and encourage other business leaders.
For us here at Half a Bubble Out, 2021 was a year of patience, preparation, and perseverance.
Patience because things rarely happened as quickly as we wished they would.
Preparation because there are new things ahead and laying the right foundation has been critical.
Perseverance because no matter what hurdles came along, we just kept doing the next right thing.
There was a lot to celebrate in 2021 and we're grateful!
We had the privilege of continuing to serve an incredible group of clients who allow us to help them grow their businesses and keep moving forward, whether through training or designing marketing assets, or both. Some have been with us for 15 years, and some we just met in 2021.
Clients who choose to be brave and keep building and marketing their businesses, even in the face of the unknown. Clients who, like us, choose to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and pushing forward into unknown territory.
As an agency we designed and launched brand new websites, deployed online ads while battling the ever changing worlds of Facebook and Google, wrote countless pieces of marketing content including blogs and articles, managed social media brands, produced videos that helped clients further their own messages, and created a whole host of print materials along the way.
We also helped launch one new company and rebrand a couple of others as part of our 2021 fun. We have awesome clients and we are grateful for each one, near and far.
Internally we did a lot of preparing for the days ahead.
In early 2021, we redesigned our own website and launched in early 2021. We have a lot in store for 2022, which marks HaBO’s 20th year in business, and we plan to make a pretty big splash about that.
Amidst the Great Resignation, we brought on a new employee who fits our culture to a tee and found some brilliant partners across the country who are working with us to move our vision forward.
We ran two-day workshops on Zoom built around the framework of our bestselling business book, Fulfilled, released in 2020. Workshops that helped business leaders craft or refine their vision, and create a repeatable marketing and sales engine.
We mentored leaders and challenged them to grow with intention in their leadership, and we outlined additional workshops that we hope to offer later in the year as we work towards our own vision of "Helping 10,000 leaders build Passion & Provision companies full of Passion & Provision jobs that will impact entrepreneurs, their employees, and the next generation."
As 2022 begins, we're facing it with excitement and anticipation! We know there are challenges that we will encounter. That is business.
We know there are opportunities that we will have to decide to pursue or let go. That is business.
The economic environment is challenging and unstable, and we have no idea when the pandemic will lessen as a focus of conversation and decision making. Yes, VUCA is real. That is business.
What we also know is that 2022 will require ongoing patience, preparation, and perseverance.
Patience because things rarely happen as quickly as we wish they would.
Preparation because there are new things ahead and continuing to lay a solid foundation we can keep building on is critical.
Perseverance because no matter what hurdles come along, we will just keep doing the next right thing.
