Automate, optimize, and deliver more – faster. As workers and consumers, we expect and demand efficiency, convenience, and instant gratification, but at what cost? In our rush to keep up, we risk losing what truly drives success: authentic relationships, thoughtful decisions, meaningful progress, and lasting impact.
It’s time to rethink how we approach work, leadership, and life in general. Only by deliberately rejecting the constant prioritization of convenience and efficiency can we truly build deeper connections, understand the root causes of the challenges and opportunities around us, and begin leading with purpose. Here are five bold shifts to reshape how we work, lead, and live in 2025 and beyond.
1. Stop Digital-Only Communication
Start Communicating in Person
While technology has revolutionized convenience and efficiency, it often sacrifices true personal connection. Emails and Slack messages can’t convey tone, facial expressions, or body language – fundamental elements of communication. Without face-to-face interaction, you miss unspoken cues, hidden concerns, and opportunities to build trust. And from a practical business perspective, when seeking commitment, a contract, or a deal-close, digital communication makes it far easier for someone to hesitate, delay, or simply say “no.”
One of my most successful colleagues spends at least 250 days a year traveling to meet with his partners, clients, prospects, teammates, and employees. Why? Because being present in their environment and taking the time to meet in person demonstrates their value and importance. It signals genuine interest and opens doors to insights and opportunities that are impossible to capture from a distance.
While you don’t have to log hundreds of travel days, you can choose to prioritize personal interaction. Call instead of texting. Meet in person when possible. Foster a culture of connection by investing in team travel and hosting meaningful, in-person events for remote workers. The effort you make today to connect in person will strengthen trust, deepen collaboration, and lead to more fruitful opportunities tomorrow.
2. Stop Telling
Start Asking
As business leaders, we need to be decisive and clear. But more than anything else, we must remember the value of listening. Whether it’s your client or your colleague, do you know what is going on in that person’s world? Reorient your interactions by being curious and asking questions.
The adage “everyone’s favorite subject is themselves” underscores that people are naturally inclined to talk about their own experiences, opinions, and perspectives. They feel more engaged and valued when others show genuine interest in what they have to say.
Start every conversation with a resolution to actively listen, rather than thinking about what you are going to say next. Put their needs above yours and strive to understand their reality and their concerns. You can always figure out next steps once you understand what they need. Chances are, the solutions you come up with after listening will work better for everyone.
3. Stop Stupid
Start Common Sense
Remember the saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?” How often do we take the comfortable, familiar path – even when we know it’s the wrong choice? As leaders, we sometimes let emotionally charged arguments or misplaced empathy cloud our judgment, steering us away from the practical, common-sense path forward. Make 2025 the time to stop “stupid.”
As a leader, are you fostering new ideas or shutting them down? Do your team members feel safe challenging the status quo – or even challenging you? If you’re not creating a culture where innovation thrives, you’ll keep getting the same old ideas. Round and round you go.
Your employees need to trust that speaking up won’t be the end of them. When you encourage open dialogue, you empower creativity and enable direct, honest conversations. This ensures you capture invaluable insights that could prevent missteps and drive success.
Now, ask yourself: are you ready to stop making avoidable mistakes? Don’t cling to “the way we’ve always done it” or throw good money after bad. Change is hard, but being stuck in neutral is worse. This applies to tough decisions about your team, too. Keeping an underperforming member isn’t fair to them or their colleagues. Common sense tells you it’s time to make a change. Stop stupid, act on it.
4. Stop Being Transactional
Start Being Relational
We often fall victim to the tyranny of the urgent: chasing deadlines, ticking boxes, and basking in the quick gratification of getting things done. It feels productive, even satisfying. But is it real progress, or are you just running faster on the hamster wheel? Productivity only matters if it’s aimed at solving the right problems.
Take a step back and critically assess your to-do list. What problem will each task solve? Is it truly addressing the core issues hindering growth or squeezing the bottom line? Is there a better approach? And remember: your perspective, no matter how strong, is only a case study of one. Engaging others, those impacted by your decisions, can reveal critical insights you may miss on your own.
A cruise line client of our research team offers a perfect example. They assumed their baby boomer clientele booked with them because of age, so they set out to redesign their website with that assumption in mind. Instead, my colleague dug deeper, conducting user research and listening to actual customers. It turned out age wasn’t the driver at all.
Customers chose the line for three specific reasons: exotic destinations, superior leisure experience, and partying with friends. This research shifted the strategy. The new website focused on these differentiators rather than outdated stereotypes of boomers being boomers, saving the cruise line from making a costly, misguided assumption.
The lesson? Adopt a relational, problem-solving mindset. Invest the time to listen, ask questions, and uncover the real sources of influence, reasoning, and truth. Only then can you ensure your efforts are directed toward meaningful progress, not just checking the next box.
5. Stop Being a Consumer of Life
Start Experiencing Life
This is where all these “STOPS” converge. Instead of merely consuming information, experiences, and relationships, start investing in them. Shift your focus from what others can do for you or your business and approach each interaction with genuine curiosity. When you do, a new world of opportunities unfolds – fresh perspectives, deeper understanding, powerful ideas, and meaningful relationships emerge.
Suddenly, things you thought were true don’t hold up, long-standing beliefs are challenged, and people or places you once overlooked become significant. You discover new approaches, uncover untapped potential, and spark ideas that can transform your business and your life.
So, step away from your screen, your comfort zone, and your endless to-do list. Embrace 2025 with gratitude, curiosity, and a commitment to personal and professional growth.
***
As a quarterback, I learned that success in football demands constant improvement. From game to game, quarter to quarter, and even play to play, adjustments are how you stay ahead. There are always things we can do better! The same principle applies to life and work: standing still is not an option.
While it’s never a bad time to look for ways to improve, the New Year is a perfect opportunity to review past performances, refine strategies, and gear up for the challenges ahead. It’s a chance to reset, refocus, and recommit to achieving greatness.
Our company president has written a fantastic article that outlines practical steps for making 2024 your best year yet: what to start doing, and just as importantly, what to stop doing. I encourage you to give it a read, take the lessons to heart, and make this your breakthrough season. Let’s seize this New Year with purpose and passion!
Fran Tarkenton
