Being the kind of person that is forced to think big thoughts for a living, I am always on the hunt for new things to learn. It is a knowledge economy after all so the smart people win and I like to win. This is actually one of the things that became crystal clear for me this year –smart people have a distinct advantage. That sounds simple so let’s at least unpack the word smart… I think there is a formula for being able to succeed in the marketplace primarily based on what is inside your skull, and it looks something like this:

1 part ability to retain information

1 part ability to recognize patterns

2 parts ability to digest large amounts of information quickly and make sense of it

2 parts ability to prioritize what is relevant

5 parts the river of information you have created to feed the above skills

Having a large river of information myself, I learned a lot of other things this year, and I have the advantage over most people in that I get to speak to, and consult for, lots of organizations so I get to see patterns many people would never have the chance to see. Here are some bullet points I learned from observing, and reading about, leaders and the institutions they run:

• Leaders are struggling with the changing dynamics in society and the marketplace and it is clearly pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. This dynamic is testing what it means to be a good leader.
• Most organizations are under increasing pressure to improve in order to survive, yet most feel they lack the time to do the R&D work necessary to really find new ways to succeed. Either they commit to breaking through, or they will run on an ever-increasing treadmill that will kill them off.
• Technology continues to drive changes in customer and employee behavior and organizations are routinely slow to figure this out. They either take the risks to make innovations, or they wait for competitors to teach them the way – which is dangerous.
• In times of disruption there is tremendous opportunity, and we live in one of the most disrupted times there has been in a while. There are fantastic opportunities for those willing to risk breaking out of patterns their industries established decades ago.

I have also learned that the next generation of young people coming up may do more to change the world than any of the generations I have experienced. I am tired of people bashing the Gen Y and next crowd because they are different in how they operate, and their love of technology. Mark my words, they will use technology tools, and their hearts for a better world to do awesome things.

I learned that writing three books in one year is a difficult thing to do. I am clearer than ever that people die (because a number of friends did.) The fact that I had to get glasses for the first time this made it clear that I am getting older and really cannot stop that trend.

Maybe above all of this, I learned this year that the world is full of really good people, and that is easy to forget because the bad people get all the press for some reason. When I really focused on doing the math (as I did this year) it became clear to me that most of us are just hard working people that want the world to be a better place, and we are trying in our own ways to get it there. There are some slackers, and downright evil people, yet on the whole, we are headed in the right direction – despite what any political party that is not in power will say.

I go into next year ready to do great things – I hope you are as well…

Scott Klososky
Scott@klososky.com