Do we really need closure as the year ends?

How many emails like these have you seen lately?
“This was a challenging year, but one with many achievements and a great deal of learning.”
“We are wrapping up an intense year, looking ahead to the next one.”

Sound familiar?

We have a deep human need to close a period, a chapter, a story.
Closure gives us a sense of order and control.

Almost a century ago, Bluma Zeigarnik- a student of Kurt Lewin , identified a slightly different tendency:
Waiters remembered unpaid orders remarkably well and almost immediately forgot those that had already been settled.

It is precisely the open ending that keeps us attentive, engaged, and committed.
The effect was later named after her.

Not by chance, most modern distractions operate on the same principle:
TV series episodes that end without closure, unread messages, LinkedIn profile completion percentages, endless news feeds.

Over the past year, through the training programs I conduct, I had the opportunity to work with diverse groups at the forefront of Israeli industry on negotiation skills, motivation, and managing complex conversations:
innovation managers at Intel, program managers at Elbit, high-potential professionals at the Israel Electric Corporation,
project managers at Ashtrum, headquarters managers at Bezeq, and HR leaders at Tnuva.

At the end of every session—short or long—I ask myself one question:
“If I had another half hour, what additional value would I give this group?”

It is almost never another tool or technique.
It is usually one good question they could ask the other side, such as:
“What would make you leave this conversation feeling you didn’t give up something essential?”
“What do you think I still don’t fully understand?”

And if you, too, had an extra half hour to invest in the most meaningful challenge you faced this year- what would you do with it?

Wishing us a productive year,
with more question marks,
and fewer exclamation points.