Leadership Minute: When Planning For 2025, Start From Zero

Don't just roll your commitments over into the new year. Think about why you're doing each one

Early this year, I wrote about the importance of a zero-based commitments strategy. This adapts the common business practice of zero-based budgeting, where a leader starts from zero and adds only the budget items they think they need, rather than starting with the prior year’s budget and adjusting it.

A zero-based commitment strategy brings that same approach to personal and professional engagements. Having talked about this broadly before, I want to dig a bit deeper into how to do this tactically.

Truly Start From Zero

Write down your commitments in three buckets: short-term projects, long-term engagements such as a board seat or a club you’re in, and relationships. Then, start with a blank sheet of paper. Nothing gets automatically added; everything, from your lifelong commitments to your pet projects, are evaluated with the same measuring stick.

Ask Why