As we approach the end of a calendar year, many of us have the practice of looking back on the year that was, reflecting on the highs and lows of the year - and shape our dreams and aspirations for the coming year.

At Software People Stories, we are running a special series of conversations with people on their own approaches as well as practices and stories of how their thinking has changed over the years.

Today, I am in conversation with S Gopalan, my colleague from PM Power and an industry veteran. He prefers to be called Gopal.

In this conversation he shares

• That reflections are good
• How his own perspective on annual cycles of appraisal [and feedback] have changed over time
• That he is not fond of setting goals such as losing weight within a fixed timeline, as effective, but rather prefers to take up things that would help make changes in his daily routines
• How taking micro goals per day, could possibly be accumulated and sometimes ‘binge’ completed
• The benefit of making commitments public
• How his approaches are different when reflecting on two different contexts that he is actively associated with: a loosely structured team and a more structured team with tight timelines
• What we, as coaches, need to think about differently - about tools to help us deliver more impactful engagements
• The value of reflections - to make one feel more secure and confident of the future
• You should have a plan, but be open to modifying that to adapt dynamically