It’s a cliche I know but where has the time gone? I can hardly believe that in three weeks time we’re going to our first Christmas Party of the season. I only just stopped wearing my flip flops! What Happened?! Again it hardly seems possible to be thinking about 2012 but I have just been asked to write an article on New Year’s Resolutions for Businesses. Phew – with so many potential challenges facing businesses next year and beyond where do I start?
Where do you start in your business when it comes to planning for the next year or longer? How about starting by looking back at what the last year has brought us? Some questions to ponder:
1. What did you achieve that you planned to – how did you measure and celebrate those successes?
2. What didn’t you achieve that you planned to – how did you evaluate what prevented the outcome you wanted – what lessons can you learn for next time?
3. What “unexpected” successes did you have – how did this come about and how can you get more of it?! Was it really unexpected or in actual fact did some of that great long term planning and seed sowing you did finally pay off?
4. What unexpected set backs or obstacles did you encounter – how can you prevent these from having an impact in future?
5. What was your best moment of the last year and why? How can you get more of those moments?
6. What was your worst moment of the last year? Are there ways to prevent or minimise the impact of those moments in future?
So – enough questions for now – I’ll leave you to ponder the answers for you and your business. Next step (and next blog post) – building a picture of the next 12 months. After that we can get down to setting the New Year’s Resolutions that will get us to the outcomes we want. In the meantime – enjoy the weekend.