“I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.” – Georg C. Lichtenberg

Here’s a quote I’ve heard a lot lately: “I sure hope we have a better year next year.”  That’s great.  I think virtually everyone who’s ever lived on this planet has said that.  Even if you have a terrific year, you’d always like it if the next one was even better.

The problem with that quote is that it’s too often followed by…nothing.  We hope we have a better year, but we don’t actually do anything to make that happen.  We’d like to do exactly the same thing we did this year, but with better results.

Not likely.  The word “better” suggests that things will be different in a way that is good for us.  And different means change.  If all we’re doing is hoping, then we’re relying on that change to be positive through no action of our own.  In other words, we’re just hoping to be lucky.

Think about your history as a leader.  Do you hope for better years?  Do you hope for growth, or efficiency, or a high-performing team?  What specifically have you done to make those things happen?  The sad truth is that too often, all of us want things to be better but don’t back it up with action.

Regardless of how your 2025 has gone, think about 2026.  We’ll assume you’d like it to be better.  What specifically would you like to see improve?  Whatever that is, what are the first two or three steps you need to take right now to make that happen?

Don’t get stuck in the world of hope.  I don’t mean you shouldn’t hope, or that you shouldn’t have a positive attitude.  I just mean that you can’t stop with hope.  Believe things can be better – then go out and make them that way.