It’s nearing the year end and it’s a very good idea to look back at your year – see what’s been successful and what’s not been successful and look at what you didn’t achieve when you really wanted to.
Let’s be honest – best laid plans and all that – but stuff does happen that knocks your plans out of kilter, so some things may well have slipped. However it’s not an excuse for letting your plans slide – there is still time to get back on track – and review what didn’t work and make sure you don’t repeat that in 2016.
We had a hell of a year – or so I had thought – and it was only when I looked back at my year end review in 2014 and actually saw exactly how much progress we have actually made – that in retrospect 2015 was reasonable productive. Not perfect I hasten to add, but I’d give us a 7/10 – which with a key supplier going bust, a depot closure or two and a legal case or three means we have certainly still been going in the right direction. There were also a few key bits I’d missed or indeed forgotten so I am rushing to get them finished by year-end so I start 2016 with a clean slate. This is a great thing to do in your business too.
Did you get the sales you needed this year? Did you secure the funding you wanted? Did you get the profit you wanted? And if you have achieved all of this have you stretched yourself sufficiently? What could you do to push yourself a little harder next year? What could you achieve if you start aiming higher rather than at what you think you can reasonably achieve?
I have a mate – Steven – who is rocketing with his business – and he has the potential to look at billion dollar deals next year rather than mere millions – and is encouraging me to look at my business in the same way. What would happen if you added a 0 to your projections? How would that impact on you, you dreams and what you might be able to achieve?
Next week I’ll be talking about planning – and providing some good resources for to clarify where you want to go next year –and simple methodology for you to communicate this to all you stakeholders so they can share and contribute to your visions. But start it all with a good hard look at what you needed to achieve this year – what you may have slipped on and may have time to get back on track with before the end of the year and a chance to clarify those aims and start thinking about 2016 and beyond. So spend this week looking back – and then next week we’ll take some time and look forward to make 2016 you best year ever. As always welcome your feedback at katelester.com.