From Experience To Edge
It’s been an interesting year. I have seen more companies than ever before shift from setting growth goals at the beginning of the year, to readjusting to goals to be above last year, to further readjusting to doing at least as well as last year. The last couple of months have been encouraging as I once again start hearing that companies have had “record months”. The pain points have been numerous: Supply delays, higher costs, softer market, and the constant juggle of people and priorities have stretched leaders and their teams thin. Yet a common reflection from leaders is, “It’s been hard - but we’re sharper now.”
That’s what experience does when you use it well - it sharpens you.
Not every challenge gives you scars. Some give you structure, resilience, and an edge.
The Biblical author James reminds people to “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing … produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Experience gives you information. Reflection turns it into direction.
Every business year brings lessons. Some are costly, some are subtle, and some come disguised as problems. But they all offer insights - if you take time to see them.
The businesses that stay strong are the ones that treat experience as data. They look back not to dwell, but to decide. What worked? What didn’t? What will we do differently next time? That’s where advantage lives.
In a market where the difference between staying steady and going under can come down to a few well-made decisions, reflection isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Your edge isn’t luck. It’s clarity. It’s confidence. It’s your ability to learn faster and apply better than the next business.
Now is the time to capture those lessons before they fade into memory.
Bring your team together. Talk about what this year revealed - in your systems, your service, and your culture. What strengthened you? What slowed you down? What will you carry forward? What will you stop doing?
That’s where your strategy starts - not in January, but in the lessons you distill now.
Experience becomes an edge when you use it to focus your energy, sharpen your culture, and lift your game for what comes next.
You can’t always control what the year gives you. But you can always choose what you take from it.
And that’s where the real edge begins.
