My Three Words for 2022

My three words for  2022:

TRANSFORM

SCRIBE

FLUID

keith spiro photo of grab bag


As a business strategist, I collect and share best practices to help companies and individuals succeed beyond the old-rule bound ways. My Three Words is a practice I picked up from Chris Brogan (author, speaker, digital strategist) more than a decade ago. Chris encourages sharing and many folks now participate in this annual activity. Just search #My3Words and see what comes up. I encourage you to try this exercise yourself.  This is a powerful way to launch into the new year.

The words themselves are meant to act as a trigger for action and for guidance. Choosing three words to guide my year and my actions have long proven to be helpful in both stable and turbulent times and works far better than New Year’s resolutions that quickly fall by the wayside.

The words chosen are not necessarily connected to each other but each will shape my approach to planning and my response to surprises. Having three words as the lens I look through daily, has simplified decision making and eliminated waffling over direction or need for permission to move forward.

In 2020 my words were Community – Leadership – Journalism  and they led me to Carol Robidoux and the Manchester Ink Link.

How did I do in 2021?

My three words for last year were Directness – Flexibility – Action and they spurred impressive growth for the projects with which I was connected. Of significant note, I received affirmation of my work when the New Hampshire Press Association awarded me 2nd place for Best Use of Social Media for my Communicast series. Communicast used simple tools like video meetings and phone calls to reach out to good people doing great things at a difficult time. The Ink Link garnered 10 awards across many categories and founder/publisher, Carol Robidoux, earned Journalist of the Year.

My Three Words for 2022

As we launch 2022, my desire is to be even more effective with my time and more human in how I spend it. Here’s the story on my choice of three words for this year:

TRANSFORM

For months now the word transform has been percolating up in my conversations with others. In discussions with Eoin Costello, a digital-first champion in Ireland, we have talked extensively about re-use and reinvention. I like this definition I found of  reuse:  “to use again especially in a different way after reclaiming.”  I’ve chosen the word transform because it infuses a power of change and reinvention beyond what we might imagine at the starting point. When I looked back over the last few years of projects attempted and completed, I quickly identified ones that stood out because they transformed situations. Dramatically and in a positive way. Projects where we can transform a process, a business, a relationship are the ones I will seek out.

SCRIBE

In the ways of the internet, we are what we publish. We all are ‘the media.” Photographer, writer, influencer all your work can be found via search.

I have been a content creator for corporate work. I have been project lead in business, advisor and found a niche in photojournalism. We are all feeling the effect of akk the random information coming at us with the full force of a fire hose. What is often lacking is curation.

Scribe is my word to guide me through all the noise. The ancient scribes sought out knowledge and learning. They wrote things down and then shared and taught from that knowledge base. Today I think of editors and teachers in this role. The verb for scribe is “to write” and this sounds like a great way to move beyond any moments of writer’s block. We are already capturing the events, opportunities and successes of our daily lives on social media. Scribe represents insight.

FLUID

I like the Merriam-Webster definition of fluid. An” [adjective] having particles that easily move and change their relative position. Capable of flowing. Subject to change or movement.”

I think of water and how persistent it is finding its way from mountain top to the ocean. Over time, water will wear down solid rock. Its motion and form will alter to meet any obstacle. This will be my reminder of how to minimize stress when obstacles present themselves. Be like water and go around, over or simply wear down the obstacle over time.

THESE ARE AMAZING TIMES. You can make 2022 an amazing, transformational year.

Please do reach out and share YOUR 3 words with me.