Last week, I reflected on the highs and lows of 2022. This week it is time to look forward!
I was reading some local media featuring surveys and interviews with local business leaders. The outlook is….a little gray. In general, companies are not looking at a lot of growth next year. Staffing and budgets are flat. A lot of talk is around a recession, inflation, continued challenges over remote work, a mismatch between the labor and job markets, and a lack of affordable housing.
None of us exist in a bubble, so as I look at Futurety, I think about how each of these factors weighs into our year. Without further ado, here are our New Year’s Resolutions:
Everyone an Owner
Anyone who knows me knows how proud I am of my kids. They have a lot of good traits and all three are very hard workers. My daughter works at a fast-casual restaurant and gets to work about 30 minutes before her shift starts. When asked why she said she wants to make sure all of the food in her area is prepped and ready before her shift. She takes ownership of the role. In working food services in my teen years, I remember kids sitting in their cars in the parking lot and not walking into the door until the exact minute their shifts started. I can’t think of a better example of thinking like an owner vs thinking like an employee.
I think the idea of an owner mindset has fallen out of fashion in a post-COVID world, but it’s still the best advice I would give anyone. Act like an owner, care deeply about your work, and your career will have no limits. Punch a clock and you’ll be treated like a clock puncher. When working with other startups and they are trying to decide who on their team has an owner mindset, I pose this question:
“If your biggest competitor moved to town and started recruiting up all the talent in your industry, which of your employees would say ‘I wonder if there is a role over there for me?’ Those are your employees. Now, which team members would say ‘Those jerks better not come after our team!’ Those are your owners.
Futurety has always offered the chance for even our newest team members to be treated like an owner. This year we are formalizing that by creating an employee ownership plan. Team members are awarded shares in Futurety and are paid quarterly dividends based on company profits. Accounting and finances are all transparent and team members are informed monthly on detailed company performance.
Double Down Where We Are Best
If you are a regional hospital growing by acquisitions and working to integrate a dozen different data systems to build 50 patient models and increase acquisition and engagement via digital channels, we are the perfect fit.
If you’re a bank, pharma company, a medical device company, eCommerce retailer, national restaurant group, industrial manufacturer, national professional service provider, or anyone in a regulated or complex business with a lot of data, we are a great fit for you.
If you are a single location retail franchise with a single product line in one local market, we aren’t the best fit. We have a half dozen partners who will do great work at a great price and we’ll make personal introductions for you. If you need a videographer, graphic designer or photographer, we’ll gladly refer you to a partner who can help.
It’s easy for me to get caught up in every deal that crosses our inbox. I’ve gotten better about saying no.
Chasing the wrong deals only leads to frustration. You either spend a lot of time working on deals you don’t win. Or worse yet, you win deals that aren’t good fits. By knowing who we serve best we win most deals we pursue, keep team members happy, and rarely lose a client.
But Keep Testing
We found a huge opportunity with our software platform HUCKLE. We realized that being opportunistic in real estate creates long-term equity. We even have made an investment or two in startups we really believe in.
In 2023 we will continue to keep testing and innovating. The team is always coming up with new ways to innovate: Processes we can turn into products; Efficiencies we can gain; Bigger problems we can solve.
Create the Future…Together
This year we are expanding our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. We’ll continue to attract diverse team members, partners, tenants, and clients – and do so even more deliberately. We also keep expanding our definition of diversity. Beyond race and gender, we are focusing on areas like age, parental status, and nation of origin. Diversity isn’t only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. If the entire team is made up of young, straight, white guys, we aren’t going to do a great job marketing a product focused on single moms, young women, senior citizens, or non-native speakers.
More Community Involvement
I’ve been cold. I’ve been hungry. I’ve gone back to school without school supplies. So solving immediate problems is close to my heart. A
t Futurety we invest in our community throughout the year. We give to food banks, buy school supplies and go a little crazy in our holiday shopping for families that need help. Aside from immediate help, this year we are going to focus on the two things that make a lasting impact: creating more well paying jobs and supporting a trained and available workforce. We’ll be looking to work with community partners who can make an impact on both.
