Dear members of the Holistic Management International community,
I hope this letter finds you well as we welcome in the new year of 2023.
As we set our goals for the year ahead, it's important to remember the power of small, incremental changes. As James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits, "Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations." In the context of Holistic Management, this means that rather than trying to overhaul our entire approach, we can focus on making small, atomic changes that will add up to big results over time. As someone who made big changes, hence big mistakes, in spite of the advice of my mentors to follow weak link principles, this has particular significance.
In addition to focusing on small habits, it's also important to carefully consider our investments - both of time and money. As Eliyahu Goldratt writes in The Goal, "Every investment we make should be in the direction of our goal, and every action we take should be the next most important action in relation to our goal." According to the theory of constraints, this means that we should be focusing our investments at the bottleneck of our business - the area that is most limiting our progress. By identifying and addressing these bottlenecks, we can make the most impact and move closer to achieving our long-term goals. Holistic Management enables us to create a balanced, holistic beacon and then select the optimal use of resources through the Holistic Management planning processes and decision testing process. IF balance in complexity is your goal, these are elegant tools.
The principles of Holistic Management are all about understanding and then unlocking the positive potential of the interconnectedness of life. This year let's continue to approach challenges with a holistic perspective and make decisions that balance the needs of people, the environment, and the economy. By considering the long-term effects of our investments, the best places to allocate our time while monitoring the most appropriate lead-indicators to ensure we are managing holistically.
As we embark on a new year, it's important to remember the power of community and the value of sharing ideas and experiences. HMI is fortunate to have a talented and committed group of practitioners, and we invite you to take advantage of the many workshops and events we will be hosting in 2023. Seeing is believing, and we believe that by participating in these events and engaging with the HMI community, you will gain valuable insights and inspiration to help you on your Holistic Management journey.
Let's take this opportunity to celebrate our successes and the ways in which Holistic Management has helped us make a positive difference to business viability, improved resilience and biodiversity, and enabled practitioners to live fulfilled lives. Here's to another year of growth and possibility for HMI and the entire Holistic Management community. Let's embrace the power of atomic habits and make wise investments in the coming year, focusing on the weak link analysis and root-cause diagnosis of our businesses.
Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year!