Corporate rallies and energy

I have been invited to speak in start-of-the-year rallies, mid-year rallies, last-quarter rallies and sorts. And I love every one of them.

Start-of-the-year rallies are important because it serves to awaken the long hibernation caused by the holidays that may have put that old fighting spirit to rest. These are needed to rouse, inspire and to kindle back that fire of competitive spirit into the people’s being so that they regain focus and pour in their energy towards attainment of the New Year’s goals.

Mid-year rallies are even more important. Just as sociologists and psychologists today would say that the early afternoon part of the day is when our efficiency is at its lowest and the middle of the year is analogous to it. The spark and the flame of New Year beginnings have faded, everything is just “business as usual.” There is a need to re-awaken the business soul and make them evaluate the performances of the last two quarters, measure it against projected goals and convince those who are disappointed not to give up and encourage those who are hitting targets to give it a little bit more “go” and not to rest on inertia.

The last-quarter rallies are the most dramatic and usually the most adventurous time of all events. It is when company leaders exuberantly declare to the entire team that they are doing very well and are on course to hit targets, in my experience many of my clients would use this occasion to announce that they have attained their goals and are now on their way to hitting their “stretch targets” so this is not the time to slacken. The incentives are now in sight!

There have been many cases wherein clients would tell me a few months later that the last quarter rally was the clincher that enabled their teams that last moment push that enabled them to hit their targets. For those who are lagging, it seems that there is now a revived energy to prove the numbers wrong and show everyone that they will reach their targets and they do. It is amazing to see this kind of revived energy.

And of course, there are those who are struggling to hit targets and would want me to encourage their people not to quit at this time but to give it that extra push and do their best with all their might, so they can give it an honorable fight.

Rallies are important. I look at this and I am pleasantly surprised to see a recurring pattern of corporate business behavior might also be an illustration of our personal energy behavioral pattern as well.

My first hour after slumber is to wake up my entire being. Spend the most important hour doing my Quiet Time–prayer, Scripture study and meditation; building my inner strength. Take a cup of coffee I brew myself, do exercise, review my presentation and soon I would be at my peak as I enter the hotel ballroom and do my stuff. Morning is a peak time for me.

On many afternoons I do a lot more work. Coffee is useful but it is not the key that would provide me the energy I need. I have the luxury of taking a quick nap as I am being driven to my next engagement. A few minutes is all I need and the moment I get to my next speaking schedule, I have the energy I need to do my job well.

Now this may be strange but I actually feel my energy being revived in the evenings. And this is when I spend quality time with the family, write a few pages for the new book I am preparing, post stuff in my digital spaces and prepare things for the next day.

And I thought this was unique until I read Daniel Pink’s new book entitled: “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.” In his latest book, Pink claims that after scouring economic, biological and psychological studies to explore what he calls the overlooked dimension. “Timing exerts an incredible effect on what we do and how we do it,” he says.

And the thing that hits me is when his studies show that our moods and energy levels follow ­predictable circadian rhythms based on our genetically predisposed chronotype. Pink claims that the average person’s mood bottoms out approximately seven hours after waking, between 2 and 4 p.m. And that’s when the incidence of on-the-job errors spikes. And his advice is that you and I should refrain from making important decisions at that time. But then Pink presents studies that would show that the energy bounces back during the evenings of the day.

I am not an expert in this field but I somehow look at this and connect it with business organization’s behavior. At the start of the year (morning) the energy that is awakened give them the peak time to perform at their best. In the middle of the year (afternoon) the energy sags and therefore needs a short nap to awaken that low energy back to life. And then the last quarter of the year (evening) you take advantage of the season to encourage the team to reach out for the “impossible” as the energy is revived.

Oh, I don’t know… perhaps I am just imagining things. But after 300 plus talks in a year for the last many years and after testimonies of clients telling me that sales rallies work… then perhaps it is something worthy to look at.

Energy just like any other resource should be managed correctly. And rallies are simply events intending to gather the energy towards productive allocation and application. I guess, I will be doing a lot more of it this year.

(John Maxwell and Ken Blanchard’s accredited industry practitioners and subject matter experts join Francis Kong in an afternoon conference entitled: Leadership Excellence -The Winning Edge! On March 2, 2018 at CITY CLUB at Alphaland Makati. For registration and inquiries contact Jacque at 0999 7283971 or Mary at 0917 8173736 or call Inspire-UN Leadership Consultancy Inc. 777 6038)