A Bias For Action

I wonder just how many of us made that traditional New Year’s eve resolution? Or even a long list of resolutions!

In my humble experience, resolutions are most often genuine reflections of long-held frustrations, unfulfilled ambitions or perhaps just ideas linked to our desire to be a better person in the way we are around others (family member, business leader, subordinate, team member etc.).

I suspect that more and more we are in self-reflection mode these days, versus the traditional wish list, but this is just my intuition.

Either way, January 2026 is the ideal time to ensure that those quiet moments spent reflecting on our lives and work whilst we were on the beach, bush-walking, driving, or just holidaying, aren’t wasted. Our clearest and most compelling insights often arrive in those peaceful moments, when our minds are free of meetings, diary appointments and phone calls.

In the world of Scaling -Up (MIT ‘Birthing of Giants’), a very simple and critically important concept is taught. It’s the notion of having a bias for action.

Whilst we return to work, return to the routines of life, the risk is exactly that, that those brilliant holiday inspirations are lost within weeks of return. Routine itself is a solid foundation for success, as long as those routines aren’t just bad habits that don’t allow your creative efforts to be frustrated or thwarted.

If I reflect just for a moment on my own progress or lack of, I can see that were moments in my life where NY resolutions had a tremendous impact both professionally and personally. Probably the two most memorable and impactful resolutions were to return to University to complete an MBA at the age of 50. Of course, this all had to be managed whilst leading a busy business and family life. Just this one decision resulted in my entry into the Executive leadership level and of course more responsibility and success.

The other, might not seem so important, was to take on the Palm Beach to Whale Beach swim. A fairly long and arduous swim at the best of times, but this year was the worst conditions in over 20 years, with big seas running, blue bottles etc. You get the idea. Within 100 metres of departing the shore, losing my goggles in the surf, I imagined myself being hauled unceremoniously from the water. None of what I had imagined happened, in fact, quite the opposite, the longer the swim went (>3 hours), the stronger I got and turning the corner from the cliffs to see Whale Beach in the distance gave me more strength and courage to continue.

The seemingly simple notion, in the resolution itself and bringing them to action were life changing. Teaching me to have the courage and confidence to make big decisions and even more importantly to take action. Neither would have occurred if I hadn’t had a plan and a bias for action.

If you have a plan, you’re more likely to succeed than if you just have a thought.

It can be hard to get traction, it doesn’t matter if it’s a leadership style reflection, work-life balance, or a major business initiative, help is always at hand, just a call away.

What’s your bias for action this year?

Stoke Consulting