I wonder…2023

We’ve arrived in 2023 off the back of what is fair to say has been a rather full on year

2022 brought war, inflation and a cost of living crisis and the hottest day on record in the UK showing. It really was like nothing I remotely remember experiencing since being born (1984, in case you were wondering)

There has been good and bad during the last year, with some personal highlights below

• Losing my Grandad (and last of that generation in my family) back in February
• Starting to work 4 days per week from April to free up time for other important things, such as…
• Becoming the treasurer for Pastos Verdes, a charity that supports orphaned boys in Mozambique
• Walking my mum down the aisle in June! (To get married, not a trip to Aldi)
• Presenting a panel discussion with industry experts at the Digital Accountancy Show
• The lionesses winning the Euros!
• Starting to learn Italian on Duolingo (162 day streak and counting — more on that later)
• My son Paddy heading off to secondary school in September
• Launching a response to the cost of living crisis in September that has help at over 15 households so far
• Running 10x further than I did in 2021 and completing the Bacchus Half Marathon
• Starting a 30 day plank challenge back in January and ending up doing a daily plank for all 365 days of the year (and 4 mins per day since March)
• Both my sports teams ending the year looking absolutely fantastic (Arsenal top of the Premier League and the San Francisco 49ers on a 9 game win streak — more on that later too!)
• Connecting with and getting to know more of our community in our village through Wild Church, Community Sundays and this year’s Aylesham Panto

There have been some frustrations too

• Missing the Leeves Golf Day with my in June thanks to Covid
• Trying to encourage people to get involved in community and not hearing anything back (just a reply to say you’re alive will do!)
• Harry Kane missing that crucial penalty vs Argentina

But what’s ahead?

On MTD

For me, and many others working in the accounting and tech industry the news that Making Tax Digital has been kicked (somewhat) down the line was released just before we took our Christmas break

The concept is simple. Small businesses have a far better chance of success having their numbers at their fingertips and having their advisors connected and able to advise in real time, so they have the potential to make better decisions faster. (Note this does not mean they always make the best decisions, nor that there aren’t 100’s of other factors to consider but lets keep this simple for the purposes of this article)

That announcement (hopefully) means that you’ll be hearing a lot less about ITSA and Tax this year and a lot more about the thing that really matters

Setting up small businesses for success

A digital approach to record keeping and connection to advisors who have the expertise and ability to take learnings from other businesses and apply them to make things better is, in my opinion, the only way forward. Regardless of legislation.

My hope is that people will therefore step back a little from the coalface and start to think about how they can make technology make life easier and, in turn, help them to provide a better service for the people around them. Whether that’s with clients, in volunteer roles or simply in your own families and communities.

When looking at technology look to those that integrate best with other tools.

On Streaks

How good are these btw?

Streaks to me are what garlic bread is to Peter Kay

Having started the 30 day plank challenge on New Year’s Day the next streak off the block for me on this was Wordle which we got into as a family at the start of last year. Only having the ability to do one a day was brilliant and soon led to Quordle, Octordle, 16-ordle, one that had numbers in it soon followed etc. (There are actually now at least 275 variations on the theme)

That day on holiday in April when my phone battery died and I lost my streak was a sad one.

In February my wife Becca downloaded Duolingo to attempt to learn Greek ahead of the holiday I just mentioned. Streaks aplenty, and an incredibly annoying ‘da-ding’ sound every time she got something right. The dopamine hits were off the scale. Not quite sure how, but it took me until July (and my daughter starting Italian at the start of the summer holidays) to get involved.

First thing I learned, there is a setting to remove the ‘da-ding’ — yes! Secondly, that our competitive streaks are strong! Thirdly, how powerful good design is. I’ll be signing up to Super Duolingo shortly. Streak freezes built in are a touch for those days the battery dies or you just have too much else on!

Applying streaks to life is a great way to hone discipline and habits. Applying them to business and you’ll be laughing.

(Queue interruption as a friend has just dropped round a kettlebell — can anyone guess what’s being added to the list of streaks?)

On AI

ChatGPT and other AI powered tech tools are really starting to up their game now. My LinkedIn and Twitter timeline is full of examples, ideas and suggestions on how people are starting to leverage these tools. There will doubtless be many people that start to use this type of tech to build some unbelievable businesses and it’s clear that disruption is right around the corner in so many markets.

Understanding how we can utilise these tools in small businesses in the future is something I’m very interested in trying to understand and even experiment with.

On Leadership

My love of sports returns on this one so bear with me if that’s not your bag. I’ve seen my two favourite sports teams absolutely turn on the style over the last 12 months and I put it down to three key things.

1. Having a plan and sticking to it (becoming the best is a slow game sometimes)
2. Backing the leaders and taking risks when results aren’t quite where you need them to be
3. Creating an aligned culture with leadership at every level (no matter your role)

The most powerful team are the ones that pursue common goals and do it together. How can contribute to a culture that looks like that over this next year?

Hats off to Arsenal Football Club and the San Francisco 49ers. Whether or not you go on and win the Premier League and the SuperBowl this year you’ve taught me a lot and I have a lot of respect for how you have gone about things.

On Next Steps

To summarise

1. Use technology, design & deliver amazing services in 2023
2. Get rolling with streaks, both personal and in work
3. Explore the crazy world and potential of AI
4. Lead well and do not negotiate when it comes to culture

I hope you are looking forward to what 2023 is going to bring and as excited as I am about what’s in store.

If you enjoyed reading let me know!