Regular governance blogger Tesse Akpeki reflects on the end of the noughties and the new decade.

It’s been a restful break over Christmas and the New Year.   In the spirit of cutting back, my family went back to basics and enjoyed the warmth of each others company.  There was very little TV, lots of quizzes, catching up with family gossip (I mean news) and lots of laughter. 

I was introduced to the musical series GLee and the art of pinging.   Having found the joy of both, I enquired from my niece, Kimberley, how she had got into ping messaging.  Auntie Tesse she says, ‘everyone knows about smart phone messaging and pinging’.  ‘Everyone’ I said. ‘If I did not know, I am sure many other’s don’t.  We established that by ‘everyone’ Kim meant 14 to 18 year olds.  This reminded me of ‘perspectives, assumptions, different lenses and vantage points’. 

With Champagne uncorked I have a tendency to come up with resolutions and break them after the first week.  Realistically, what I find helpful today is practising reflection and review; avoiding the temptation to keep my focus on the future without looking back.  I need to keep at the forefront the lessons that I have learnt from those things that have not gone so well as well as those that have been a boon . Against this background, appreciation for pleasant surprises can fuel a positive outlook.     

What could I have done differently?  What would I keep the same?   What are the triggers for celebration? What are those issues for regret?   Where are the hopes, aspiration points, and rays for optimism?  How will I decide the timing of the pit stops?  Who do I need around to keep the balance between optimism and realism?  How can I be supportive to others in these challenging times?   Where can I find the strength to hold onto my vision when it seems there is a perfect storm with everything around looking seemingly bleak and hopeless? Doing this thinking and reflection on a personal, professional and organisational level can open up learning and reflective spectrum and dare I say it lead to more sustainable developments during the year.  Falling forward as well as looking forward sometimes proves a helpful practice and I hope it will come in handy to be in the right frame, doing the right things and positioned in the right direction and operating in the right place in 2011.