The year is winding down. Production is slowing. So, how do you use that extra time you don’t normally have during the year? Planning of course.
Year in Review
It’s also a good time to review the year. How have sales been over the past year? How do they compare to the previous year? Who are your best customers? Are they still adding to your bottom-line? Of the new customers you brought into your business, are you helping them plan for their 2016? Does the 80/20 rule still apply to your current customer base? If you lose a customer, will your business suffer? If so, what is the plan to replace them?
Goal Setting for 2016?
Goal setting does not have to be a complicated and drawn out effort. Sometimes, it is just the simple act of figuring out what you want to accomplish and writing it down in bullet point form. Or, you can look ahead to December 2016 and ask yourself, “where should I be at the end of the year?”. Move backwards to get yourself where you want to be. Then, write it down. The simple act of writing it down will be all you need.
Or, you can build out sophisticated action plans to achieve the goals. Good action plans are written for 30 days, 60 days, and 90-day plans. If you are actively using them, they should be a rolling plan that is updated after every 30 days. Measure your success against your end of year goals to stay on track.
Whatever goals you set for yourself, make them achievable. The biggest mistake most people make is they set themselves up for failure against factors they may not control. Make sure your goals are within the realm of possibility. Don’t set goals where you hope to be.
Good luck with 2016, all indications are we should see continued success moving ahead.
