The new year is exciting and full of fresh ideas and stretch goals – a great time to be thinking about all the big things you are going to accomplish.
I’m here to help you accomplish those big things with a plan and accountability. Here are 6 steps to get you on track to get what you want in the new year.
You can use them to get really clear about where you are, where you want to take your business, digging into the vision you have and the impact you want to make as well as what it will take to make it a reality!
1-Review the Previous 90 Days
Numbers – take some time to look at numbers (revenue, profits, and other relevant numbers) and understand trends and the health of your business.
Your top priorities – which were achieved and which were not. This gives a clear picture of how you performed. Don’t worry if you didn’t get everything done – the goal would be to achieve 80% of what you planned. For the work that didn’t get completed, you can:
- carry it forward to the next 90 days
- add it to your to-do list if it is almost complete
- reassign the work to someone else to wrap up
2-Reflect
Reflect on the best business news in the last year and celebrate it! Also, discuss/share what is working and not working in the business so it can be taken into consideration in planning for the next 90 days.
3-Review Your Strategy + Plan
Taking the time and space to review your strategy and plan is key to moving forward. The goal is to refresh your memory (and your teams) to ensure everyone is on the same page about your focus, your values, your goals, and priorities. This is the time where you want to talk about what needs to change or what adjustments are going to be made to the strategy and plan.
4-Establish Your Priorities for the Next 90 Days
List everything that must get done, review and decide what stays on the list and what goes. Narrow it down to 3-7, assign owners and due dates.
5-Address Issues
As part of your work over the last 90 days as well as what you’ve uncovered during the reflection of your business, you likely have a list of issues. These need to be reviewed and addressed.
Any issues that will be solved by the new priorities you created for the next 90 days should be removed.
With the remaining list, prioritize them. What’s the most important? What’s the most urgent? What’s the most critical for your business? Then, with the top 3 on the list:
- Identify the real problem; really understand the issue
- Have an open discussion about why it is an issue
- Move to action on how you can solve the problem
6-Schedule Your Strategy + Planning Sessions For the Year
Regular meetings (every 90 days) with your team throughout the year to review, adjust, and plan not only holds the time and space but gives your business the time and attention it needs.
The key is to keep you, your team and your business aligned and on track.
It also helps you keep sight of your vision and out of living in a world of chaos.
Finishing out the year, while looking ahead to the next, is important to the success of any small business.
What to do next.
Get a jump start on 2019: Schedule a strategy + planning intensive session if you haven’t already done so.