Annual Review of 2024
A retrospective of my 2024.
Years ago, I began curating inspirational videos into a playlist on my YouTube account. Today, "Get After It" houses over 130 clips.
Two favorites are from the late Jim Rohn:
• Living an Exceptional Life
• Personal Development Seminar
Wisdom from those talks resurfaces precisely when I need it - during days that seem stagnant and stuck as well as when all is well.
Jim's lessons just hit:
- How do we earn above-average incomes? Be above-average people.
- Income is determined by our philosophy, not by the economy.
- Work on ourselves harder than we work on our jobs.
- If we will change, everything will change for us.
- If we rest too long, the weeds take the garden.
Looking back on 2024, guidance from Jim and others has kept me grateful, accountable, focused, disciplined, and even-keeled.
This is the third annual review I've written (here are reviews of 2022 and 2023). The exercise is deep and meaningful and properly seals the past year.
What follows are some highlights and challenges from 2024.
2025 is well underway and it's already amazing.
Highlights
🌺 Work
Kahua means 'platform' or 'foundation' in Hawaiian. We provide an online Platform as a Service for construction owners across various industries.
Our rapid growth is fueled by our customers' success. In 2024, we experienced significant growth in revenue, personnel, partners, and customers.
The team and culture at Kahua are truly special. Our approach is underpinned by the Core Values we demonstrate every day:
• Performance
• Work-Life Balance
• Continuous Improvement
• Customer Focus
• Teamwork
While it may sound like corporate jargon, these values are genuinely practiced here. Learn more at kahua.com.
🧳 Travel
The skies were friendly in 2024.
Places I visited:
- Atlanta, Georgia. Kahua is headquartered in Alpharetta. I managed to work from that office every month in 2024. Loved an offsite we had at Serenbe.
- Boulder / Denver, Colorado. Two of my sons attend university in Boulder. I also presented at an Infraday conference in Denver and saw Goose perform live nearby.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Kahua has partners and customers in Calgary, who I was able to see twice in 2024. Tip: Eat at Caesar's Steak House.
- Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. One of my sons lives there. Our family celebrated Mother's Day at Maria's Mexican Kitchen.
- Hamilton, Bermuda. Kahua's top sales performers were treated to a week in Bermuda, as part of the company's Achievers Club. We had a blast at the Swizzle Inn.
- Lake Tahoe, California. We frequent Lake Tahoe throughout the year, considering it's a few hours away from our home.
- Las Vegas, Nevada. My wife's siblings joined us for a fun summer weekend. We stayed at Bellagio and loved dining at the Mayfair Supper Club.
- Los Angeles, California. I presented downtown at Infraday California.
- Miramar Beach, Florida. Kahua's revenue organization met for its mid-year kickoff at Hotel Effie in Sandestin.
- Munich, Germany. Our family experienced an epic vacation that started at Oktoberfest. Highly recommended. Prost!
- Hoboken, New Jersey. Visited my oldest (and one of my dearest) friends in Teaneck. Stayed at the W Hotel and saw where Frank Sinatra was born.
- New York, New York. I visited New York City twice last year. The first was for a few days with my wife at the beautiful JW Marriott Essex House at Central Park. The second was to attend the wedding of a dear friend of mine.
- Panama City, Florida. Spent a productive week at a leadership offsite in Watersound. The 30A community is gorgeous.
- Paris, France. One of the best cities on the planet. Our family visited the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles, and all the stops. Watch the 1972 short film C'etait un Rendezvous.
- Portland, Oregon. I spoke at an executive retreat at the Ritz-Carlton.
- Salzburg, Austria. Our family stayed at the amazing Hotel Sacher, toured Mozart's birthplace, and visited our cousins in Linz.
- San Diego, California. Our home away from home. We celebrated the Christmas holiday with family, and my sons and I played golf together.
- Seattle, Washington. I spoke at the Infraday Pacific Northwest conference at the Sheraton Grand.
🏃🏻 Runs
In 1962, my dad ran his first Bay to Breakers race - a 12K that stretches from the San Francisco Bay to Ocean Beach.
For his 75th birthday in 2022, Dad ran it again with my brother and me and four of his grandsons. In 2024, the son-of-a-gun ran it again, so my son Michael and I joined him.
The man's a machine!
🚶🏻Walks
For the 2nd consecutive year, I completed the 75 Hard program.
Over 75 days in a row, it included long walks (2-5 milers), eliminating alcohol, drinking almost 80 gallons of water, and reading 10 pages a day.
📚 Books
All non-fiction ones. Perhaps I'll dive into some fiction in 2025.
These books are legit. I recommend them all:
• The Pyramid Principle - Barbara Minto
• Fire Lighters 365 - Lew Caralla
• The Seller’s Journey - Richard Harris
• Unreasonable Hospitality - Will Guidara
• Winning on Purpose - Fred Reichheld
• Eat Their Lunch - Anthony Iannarino
• Construction Project Management - Alison Dykstra
• Useful Not True - Derek Sivers
See more of my Recommended Reads.
⛳️ Golf
The handicap remains the same. 🙂
Courses played (all are in California):
- Boundary Oak - Walnut Creek
- San Ramon - San Ramon
- Canyon Lakes - San Ramon
- Silverado - Napa
- Dublin Ranch - Dublin
- Lake Tahoe - South Lake Tahoe
- Schaffer's Mill - Truckee
- Round Hill - Alamo
- Singing Hills at Sycuan (Willow Glen) - El Cajon
- Carlton Oaks - Santee
🥁 Live Music
Only 5 shows in 2024, but enjoyed them all.
Bands I saw:
• Phil Lesh & Friends (Rest in Peace, Phil)
Saturday, January 13
Warfield Theater
San Francisco, CA
Setlist
• Goose
Friday, June 7
Fiddler's Green
Greenwood Village, CO
Setlist
• Dead & Co.
Friday, June 21
The Sphere
Las Vegas, NV
Setlist
• The Story So Far
Saturday, December 14
Masonic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA
Setlist
• Mother Hips
Friday, December 20
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
Setlist
🎙️Podcasts
It was fun saying yes to friends and colleagues inviting me on their podcasts. See and hear all the podcast recordings on the 🎧Audio page.
• The Win Rate Podcast with Andy Paul
A conversation with Richard Harris, Mitchell Kasprzyk, and Andy Paul about accountability for sales leaders and teams. (transcript)
• The B2B Revenue Executive Experience
The "topic of the day" for this episode is sales development. Hosts Carlos Nouche and Lisa Schnare ask about areas sales development leaders and organizations should consider as table stakes. (transcript)
• Outbound Squad [PipeGenLive]
This was a live episode for salespeople on how to eat your competitors' lunch. It featured Jason Bay, Ryan Oosterveld, and Anthony Iannarino and included strategies, tactics, and stories for dominating the competition.
• The GTM Podcast
An episode with Scott Barker that centers on applying systems, processes, formulas, and recipes to elevate your message and career. (transcript)
• The GTM Pack Show
A conversation with Jorge Soto about transitioning to a VP of Sales role and ensuring your organization has the mental tools for repeated success. (transcript)
• The Win Rate Podcast with Andy Paul
A discussion with Dave Brock, David Kreiger, and Andy Paul about maintaining sales win rates through tough markets and economic downturns. (transcript)
• Sell Like A Leader Podcast with David Kreiger
A conversation with David Kreiger about sales strategy, with examples of the Strategy Slide, the Plan On a Page, and the 6-pager. (transcript)
• The Sales Consultant Podcast with Derrick Williams
A talk with Derrick Williams about servant leadership, 75 Hard, and sales consulting. (transcript)
• CloseMode with Brian Dietmeyer
A conversation with Brian Dietmeyer about how to run a successful, all-company Prospecting Day. (transcript)
🎓 High School Reunion
It was a blast to join the planning committee for our 35th high school reunion. Our class was filled with good guys, which made the gathering a success.
We graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, so held the reunion in the North Beach district.
Challenges
The schedule was a big challenge. When work required my attention, it often replaced another commitment.
In 2024, I had a chance:
- to make music with Segue
- to join former colleagues for dinner
- to attend a friend's wedding in Mexico
- to see a concert with family or friends
- to play in a friend's golf tournament
- to network at an industry retreat
- to visit with loved ones
...but bailed out at the last minute or said no from the start. It got to a point where I had to create a weekly reminder to "Reprioritize for the week" and rearrange events according to urgency, importance, and impact. Ugh...
The good news? No one I bailed on busted my chops or gave me flak. The work - which was also a big challenge - got done. The needle was moved and everyone won.
Jim Rohn said, "One of the greatest motivating factors in the world is progress. And if you measure it, you'll get excited."
All the best to you in 2025! ☀️