Weekly Mix #253 - The only annual review template you'll need

My Annual Review Template, Team Performance, Liar's Poker & Everest Views

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Happy Monday!

As we roll into the last couple weeks of 2022, the thing that's been on my mind most is how much the structures in our lives shape how we live them.

At work, this year was a lesson in how much team and organization structure affect outcomes.

In life, it was a lesson in how much schedule and location affects the activities I'm doing, the people I'm with, and how I feel about my life in general.

The most important link I'll share this week is the link to my annual review template.

It's a consolidation of all the best annual review questions I've found throughout the years.

I'll be spending time over the next couple weeks to think more deeply about the highs and lows of my year, and how I need to change things in 2023 to achieve what I want.

I hope you find some time to do a similar exercise yourself.

There won't be a newsletter next week, so I hope you have a wonderful holidays!

See you in 2023.

Graham

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Links

🔧 The Complete Annual Review Template - The most important link I'll share this week, this template is a consolidated version of all the best annual review questions I've found over the years. Hit "Duplicate" up in the corner, or copy/paste to a Google Doc, and use it to review your year and plan for next. I've found it very helpful to do one each year: it helps me make changes for next year, and I can see the progression year-to-year as well.

📖 Storm to Perform: The Four Stages of Team Productivity - Leah Ryder - Trello - A friend of mine introduced me to this framework from his time at McKinsey. I've been ramping up with a new team at work, and these simplified stages map to both what I've been experiencing, and what I've seen in the past. Planning to move through those stages can help a) set expectations, and b) move through them faster. It also helps explain why constantly changing teams hinders performance.

📚 Book: Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis - Investment banking is one of the industries that has always interested me. It's notorious for being greedy, full of money, and cutthroat; so it also tends to attract big personalities. Michael Lewis—who has since written books like Moneyball & The Big Short—wrote his first novel about his experience at Salomon Brothers in the '80s, as the mortgage bond was being created. This book is fascinating, and forms a good base of knowledge for understanding the Great Recession in 2008.

🍿 DJI - Flying Above Everest - Drones have long fascinated me, and I&#x27;m still blown away by the pace at which the related technology develops. DJI is the world leader, and shows what&#x27;s possible with consumer drones that now cost <$1K.

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Andrew-->

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@AndrewCrow

Remember:

overthinking -> write
anxious -> meditate
tired -> nap
sad -> exercise
stressed -> walk
angry -> music
lazy -> reduce screen time
burnt out -> read

December 16th 2022

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