Year end reviews, especially of this year, can be sobering, but there are lessons there if we are willing to learn.

CBS Sunday Morning just concluded. I especially make sure that I have time to watch the episode that airs on the last Sunday of the year.

Each year they do a segment titled "Hail and Farewell" where they recognize some of the people that had an impact on history or our lives. This year that had essentially two of those segments. The first was dedicated to those that we have lost to the pandemic. Most are every day people, some were the front line people, nurses and doctors, while others were just like you and me or your grandparents or your children.

The year, as you will continue to be reminded with these year end notes and stories, has been truly remarkable. And while it is a crisis not seen in 100 years, it is a crisis that, if you are willing to search, has lessons.

In the new book that I am writing, the chapter on valuing yesterday but live for today is about listening to the old stories, even the ones that start with "When I was your age..." Or "When I was manager..." We tend to tune out these stories. Partly because of apocryphal and exaggeration. And partly because we don't believe that person is living today with the problem at hand.

You can look at it as bluster or nonsense or you can be an active listener and find the lesson that could apply to today. You could even turn it around and ask what they think is different or the same about today versus yesterday. To be a good leader is to be a very good listener.

I hope that you had an enjoyable holiday with or without family and friends. I wish you the best for the new year in your life, your career or your business.