The last invoice sent in December was an invitation to the leader to stop and look back on the past year. Not only to look at the results, but also on all those amazing human stories that stand behind every achieved figure. Whatever the results are in these challenging times, they need to be marked with a team.

A business year is a cycle that has the beginning and the end. The cycle traditionally overlaps with a budget year. Therefore, the end of December and the beginning of January are the only periods of the year when an organization can afford to “shut down the engines”. In order to start the new cycle with a full steam, it needs to try to clear its head of thoughts about new projects and business triumphs. Sometimes the sounds of events from the past year do not fade away but are instead mixed with concerns and thoughts about activities related to the new budget year. This situation consumes a lot of energy from a leader and an organization and reduces efficiency in the upcoming year.

One of the ways for a leader to open a holiday season is to mark the end of the year and accomplishments with his team. In our region there is no better place to celebrate than a drink bar (if it is possible during the pandemic). The significance of a drink bar as a place for celebration is even becoming a cult, thus leaders of the older generation believed that there are drink bars that can bring hapiness to a  business. The atmosphere of socializing contributes to draw the line and reduce tensions within an organization.

It is also important for aleader to present a New Year’s speech. It doesn’t matter if someone is a good or bad speaker, it is important that he honestly tells the story of the past year. A good story telling energizes a team, allows employees to experience success or to look back on smaller achievements, and to sum up that experience together. It is this distinct and emphatic message from a leader about the necessity of closing a cycle that is like a wave at a sea – it reaches all parts of organization and reaches to hearts of all employees.

Successful start of a new business cycle requires departure from the previous one and re-gathering of impressions. Similar as in a Zen story in which a teacher is visited by a student hungry for new knowledge. The teacher served him a tea – he filled the cup and kept pouring so the tea started overflowing. Like a full cup, the student is not ready for new knowledge until he has made room for it.

The business environment is far from Zen but this parable teaches us that it is necessary to say goodbye before we say hello.