Tips on making 2015 your best year yet
It’s the start of a new year! For some of us, it may feel overwhelming. For others, it might feel exciting. But, for all of us, no matter who you are, it’s an opportunity to make a fresh start and refocus on your objectives.
Create and Maintain Focus
For those of you who feel overwhelmed at the prospect of all that you need to accomplish in the new year, you need to adopt this mantra: Focus, focus, focus. All that hard work you did in 2014 has taught you plenty. You’ve learned that some things work well and others need more work, and if you’re like most business owners, you applied that knowledge and created a plan for 2015. If you did that—congrats! You’re ahead of the game. The key objectives you gleaned from creating your 2015 strategic plan are what you must keep focused on. For those of you who didn’t have time to analyze and prioritize, I encourage you to do that now, before you get too ahead of yourself. This new year can only be as strong as your focus is on your priorities.
Align Your Teams
Getting your ducks in a row is the first step, but now you’ve got to get everyone else on the same page. Your executive team should be well versed in your strategic plan for 2015 as they should have been involved in developing the plan. Since they have been instrumental in creating the future strategy, that helps achieve buy-in. However, to see company-wide success, you need buy-in from every team member. This is true whether you’re a team of 5 or 2,000. Alignment is a key tool in creating an efficient and profitable company with happy, productive teams. One of the best ways to introduce this company-wide buy-in is to create a short, high-level presentation that showcases the company’s key initiatives on a global level, meaning they could apply to any position and any person who works with you. Make sure you leave time for an open-forum Q&A following the presentation.
Open Up Communication
A lot can be forgotten between January 1 and December 31, so make sure your management team has a plan to keep these initiatives as a focal point at team meetings. In order to define success, your teams should be measuring their individual duties and projects against these larger goals. For the executive team, that means doing the same thing, and of course, communicating any changes or re-prioritizing throughout the year as necessary. As you hit milestones, your teams will feel invested and share in your success across the board. If you face challenges, it will be easier to communicate these to your teams and create action plans to overcome them as a whole when they are informed from the very beginning. This type of company-wide buy-in not only makes your job easier as a business owner, but it also makes it easier for your employees to be successful.
Your 2015 Checklist:
- Focus on objectives
- Align your teams with the company’s goals
- Clearly and consistently communicate initiatives
- Stay true to your vision/have monthly check-ins
If you need help with any of the to-do items on your list for the new year, get in touch. From private coaching to business assessment, The Alternative Board – Denver West provides the guidance you need to make 2015 your best year yet.
By Blair Koch
