When I check in with clients and friends this year, I’ve been asking:
‘What are you doing more and less of this year?’ and
‘What will you do differently/What new things will you do this year?’
The answers vary, but the bottom line is that change is happening to everyone, and we are all challenged to respond to current and projected future changes.
In 2025, FountainBlue will no longer run cross-community events. Instead, it will focus on delivering custom workshops and events in person and online. Learn more about our strategic facilitation, team building, leadership development, and change management events at https://fountainblue.biz/workshops/.
FountainBlue will still provide executive coaching services, but we will supplement that with leadership certification programs. Sign up for a complementary 15-minute exploratory call about our Leadership Development programs.
FountainBlue will still provide strategic advisory, growth advisory, and change management services as part of its consulting practice, but we will launch a ‘Something from Nothing’ offering, working with entrepreneurial professionals to launch and grow ‘Doing Well While Doing Good’ businesses. Sign up for a complementary 15-minute exploratory call about our Leadership Development programs.
I hope that this month’s post on ‘Faith, Hope, and Choices' and the follow-up post on ‘Choose Momentum’ will help you navigate the choppy waters of change.
Click on the button below to sign up for a 15-minute, no-obligation call to discuss what you’d like to do more or less in 2025!
Faith, Hope, and Choices
The world continues to navigate the profound and lasting effects of the pandemic, impacting individuals and businesses alike across political, economic, social, and environmental landscapes. Leaders today face a complex web of challenges—ranging from economic instability to technological disruptions—requiring resilience, adaptability, and strategic decision-making.
In times of uncertainty, we often seek guiding principles to help us move forward. While I don't claim to have all the answers, embracing Faith, Hope, and Conscious Choices has helped me cultivate clarity and resilience. In this blog, I share reflections on how these principles can empower individuals and leaders to navigate change with confidence and purpose.
FAITH
Faith involves believing that there is a higher being, a higher purpose than what I can be, influence, or create. I’ll stop here to quote some of the greatest minds of our times:
"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." - Stephen Hawking
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." - Helen Keller
My faith in this higher purpose helps me be confident that things will ultimately work out, even with so much disruption, discord, unrest, and uncertainty—even without knowing exactly how they could work out.
My faith helps me accept that things might not work out and be OK with that, too. With faith, we can stalwartly make a plan that positively impacts others.
"We cannot depend solely on our material wealth, on our military might, or on an intellectual skill or physical courage to see us safely through the seas that we must sail in the months and years to come. Along with all of these, we need faith." - John F. Kennedy.
It’s a tall order to invite faith as we tackle our daily challenges and embrace faith with many uncertainties ahead. So, I rely on HOPE to keep me centered.
HOPE
I practice Hope by embracing the happiness chemicals: Dopamine, the reward chemical; Oxytocin, the love hormone; Endorphin, the painkiller; and Serotonin, the mood stabilizer.
It feels good to eat healthy food, take a long hot bath every night, get sufficient sleep, and achieve a goal.
I enjoy socializing and helping others, and I dote on my husband, my daughter, my friends, and my dog.
I (attempt to) walk an hour daily, laugh easily and often, and belong to four choirs and several communities.
I take frequent breaks in my garden, feeling the sun and watching my seeds sprout, expand, and bloom.
These practices give me HOPE so that I can continue to have FAITH.
CHOICES
If I can have the FAITH, and keep my HOPEs high, I focus on making CHOICEs that support my hope and my faith. My most significant learning from college and early career years is that NATURE defines the range. NURTURE dictates where we fall within that range, but the CHOICES we make in each moment map out what happens now and reshape what happens in our future. In my decades of experience since then, I’ve learned to reflect regularly on my choices, to err on the side of kindness, and to err on the side of learning and serving others.
We are all undergoing journeys of self-discovery in search of an inspired and meaningful life. Adopting FAITH and embracing HOPE will help you make the CHOICES in the moment that influence you today and your tomorrow.
Choose Momentum
According to renowned leadership expert John C. Maxwell, momentum is valuable to organizational success and is "the difference between winning and losing. Likewise, leadership expert Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, described the “Flywheel Effect,” where small, aligned, consistent efforts compound over time to create unstoppable momentum and sustained growth. Entrepreneurs and business leaders know that building momentum is critical for:
Financial performance and growth — the money
Customer acquisition and retention — the customers
Employee engagement and productivity — the people
Market perception and brand strength — the market
However, the challenge arises when choices need to be made in an uncertain future—when circumstances are extraordinary, when the risks are significant, and when the consequences can be immediate and severe.
Below are some thoughts on how to courageously choose momentum despite the unknowns.
Leverage the Data
Embrace the data, but don’t insist on having the complete data set.
Analysis paralysis is REAL and to be avoided!
Track and measure key indicators and revise plans to ensure progress.
The correct data measured diligently will help a company align with its true north.
Research past successes and failures to make measured projections.
Learnings from yesterday will help execute today and strategically plan for tomorrow.
Leverage technology to optimize scenario planning.
Plan for the best “what-ifs” by leveraging technology and rich data sets.
Serve the Customers and the Team
Partner with customers to deliver on current and projected needs.
What the (paying) customer wants is much more critical than what cool tech can do!
Motivate, empower, and inspire your people to engage and contribute fully.
The people are the lifeblood of any business. You can’t make money, serve customers, and address a market need without them.
Recruit a diverse and collaborative team to help brainstorm, plan, and execute goals.
Integrating a creative range of perspectives with energized and cooperative stakeholders will increase your likelihood of success.
Build Momentum with Intention
Expect to fail sometimes, but recover quickly and learn from the failure.
Failure might set you back sometimes, but complacency will always set you back.
Err on the side of measured action based on logical assumptions drawn from rich data sources.
Connect and communicate with an ecosystem of stakeholders and focus on collaboratively driving momentum.
Align stakeholders behind the momentum, which will differentiate you in the market.
Follow these guidelines, but take a chance, make a choice, and choose an action.
History will note which companies and leaders choose momentum at a time when everyone is timid and uncertain. They will be the companies in the market with the most money, the best customers, and the happiest people.