Spark to Hack ✧
Hi, I'm Aurélie, a "coachultant" (certified systemic coach + consultant) and facilitator, specialized in innovation in healthcare and sustainability. I enable teams and leaders to accelerate from initial ideas to 1st pilot, GenAI been one of many ressource. I support big pharma (Roche, Pfizer, MSD...) and accelerators in AI, Digital health and medtech. I bring creativity and disciplined methods with contagious energy and smile. I have a No BlaBla, No Bullshit, and no Blingbling values. I am an entrepreneur & Mum of 3 boys aware that I only have one life, so I want to make the most of it!
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Hello Reader ! Every November, I take myself on a personal retreat. Because the best time to plan next year is now, before the rush of December 😅. If we don't take time to decide what matters to us, then we end up chasing other people’s goals, priorities, and dreams. Strategy, goals, and business planning are useful — but only once you're clear on your own direction. This year will be my 8th annual retreat, where I review the past year and set my intention for the year ahead. In today’s newsletter, I’m sharing my full recipe for it — step by step. What we’ll cover today
Before we begin, how can I help you?
✨ Spark I guess you know why taking time for self-reflection is essential, but let me insist 😉. ✏ Looking backward vs forwardIn June, I saw this quote from Winston Churchill. The organization, team, and all of us spend a lot of time looking forward: sessions on forecast, future of work, trends, and competitive intelligence for the next 3 years, and very little time on backward-looking. If you, as a leader, practice intentionally backward-looking, you can help your team do the same. ✏ Pace vs directionThis is the quote I share the most with my teams.
"The direction you are heading in matters more than how fast you move. Picking the right direction for every decision is far more important than how much hard work you apply.” Naval Ravikant Ok, so how can you pick the right direction for next year? ✨ HackSo here is how it's done. I have been adapting and improving my steps for 8 years now. I hope you will like it (tell me if you apply part of it). ✏ Success and failure: list so you can assessStart sketching in a nice notebook or go for a walk (with a voice recorder - I used one on my phone and then asked GenAI to give me the transcript word for word). You can use these prompts:
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you." — Anne Lamott Avoid digital. Go analog. This creates space for your mind to wander. ✏ Map your “Year Energy Line®”Draw a horizontal line. Mark your year across it with peaks and valleys.
This qualitative map helps spot patterns — intellectual, emotional, and physical. It is also quite playful. I recommend checking your calendar or photos to help you remember. The idea is to identify what gives you energy and ensure that next year you will do more of that. ✏ Define your vision around 8 areas of your lifeI like to use this framework to ensure I consider many areas of my life, not just work/ private life. It is based on the Wheel of Life® assessment, developed by Paul J. Meyer in the 1960s and also the adapted version of Clotilde Dussoulier in her book "La Méthode Change Ma Vie".
Some areas will speak more than others, it is ok. Again, here, grab a pen and paper and take time to think through each area. ✏ Name your intention with one wordBased on all the exercises above, I land on an intention in one word. An anchor. A lens through which I make decisions. For example, for 2025, it is DARE. (look here to see how I find my word - I coach senior leaders to do the same) 2025 for me was:
I knew it would be challenging (and still is 😅), so I set an intention to help me remember why I do what I do and why I can succeed. ✏ Mid-Novembre is the best time Setting your intentions and goals for the year is like approaching a curve while driving. Smart drivers prepare before the curve. They ease off the gas. They check their mirrors. They position their hands correctly on the wheel. This preparation happens while the road is still straight, when they have time to think and adjust without pressure. The same goes for your annual planning – December and January are "the curve", so prepare before! Book 2-4 hours for you to go through the process. And for next year, block out already 2 days to invest in yourself.
"Rest and reflection are not luxuries. They are the foundations of resilience." — Arianna Huffington
That's it for today. See you in two weeks. Keep the spark alive, and be intentional :) What's up with me? I gave a 2-hour workshop to help 35 non-tech beginners start using GenAI effectively, emphasizing a systematic approach and the need to consider GenAI as a team, not a tool (as per my coaching program here). The feedback was excellent, see below. If you were there, thank you 🙏🙏 Reader, hit reply to let me know if you liked this edition or if you tried these tips. I respond to every person who writes to me! |
Spark to Hack ✧
Hi, I'm Aurélie, a "coachultant" (certified systemic coach + consultant) and facilitator, specialized in innovation in healthcare and sustainability. I enable teams and leaders to accelerate from initial ideas to 1st pilot, GenAI been one of many ressource. I support big pharma (Roche, Pfizer, MSD...) and accelerators in AI, Digital health and medtech. I bring creativity and disciplined methods with contagious energy and smile. I have a No BlaBla, No Bullshit, and no Blingbling values. I am an entrepreneur & Mum of 3 boys aware that I only have one life, so I want to make the most of it!