Spaulding Communications believes powerful insights often come from life outside of the office. Agency President and Founder, Matt Spaulding, recently shared the following reflection on LinkedIn. His post connects the lessons of the back-to-school season with ideas business professionals can use to fuel their own growth and development.

It’s Back-to-School season and if you have kids, you know it can be a challenge. It can be hard for children to get acclimated to the end of summer and the start of a new school year. This year, the rituals associated with a new school year have made me think about what students are going through, and how some of those concepts could be applied to my business. So here goes:

Get Organized & Ready

Kids need new folders, pens, trapper-keepers and backpacks to stay organized. 📂 I’m asking myself: what new tools or resources should I invest in for me and my team? How can new organizational resources accelerate our productivity? It’s always a good time to get organized!

Make New Friends

Going to a new school or seeing unfamiliar faces in your classroom can be scary. But why? It’s likely because we haven’t met these new people yet. Just like I advise my kids to make new friends, I should do the same. 🤝 That “stranger” could open the door to a new opportunity I never expected.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

New subjects. New teachers. New expectations. A new year pushes students out of their comfort zones. 🚀 I need to remember this. If I’m too comfortable, I’m probably not growing.

Embrace Schedule & Discipline

Waking up early to face each day. Getting to school on time. Completing homework every afternoon. I need to apply the same structure and discipline. ⏰ Control my calendar. Time-block key activities. Arrive on time for each meeting.

Know Your Syllabus

On the first day of school, most kids get a syllabus containing the class content, key milestone dates and learning expectations. In some ways, this is like a strategic plan or a creative brief. 📑 Every student knows what’s expected and is accountable. Do I have something like this in place for every project I initiate with my team or clients?

Back-to-school has been a great reminder (and given me a kick in the pants) to refocus and grow. 👊

How about you? What Back-to-School lessons inspire your work or how you run your business?

Let’s keep the conversation going by leaving a comment below. Be sure to follow Spaulding Communications on social media. Or sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest industry happenings.