Think Liberally and Deliberately

Why do I devote four weeks a year to reading and thinking? So I can supercharge all the other days.

- Allan Njoroge

IN 2019, MY COMPANY had about 40 full-time employees; it was growing just fine, but I was in search of inspiration. I read one of Bill Gates's year-end recaps in which he reflected on his achievements over the previous year. He wrote about his penchant for regularly taking stock of his work and personal life. It reminded me of an article I had read several years prior about his famous biannual "think weeks."

This stuck with me, the idea of taking stock, and taking time to really think. It occurred to me I hadn't done either-maybe ever. I also thought, well, if this guy who has run a very successful company and has one of the greatest philanthropic organizations in the world-if he does that, then there's something to it. I began to consider my own approach to such focused introspection. Instead of throwing a couple of hours at my self-examination here and there, I wanted to devote real time. I then wondered: Could I take a whole week to... think? In addition to thinking, I would read a helpful book and spend time mapping out ways to weave its lessons into my company. I'd turn a week off into a mini business boot camp.