Going into a new year, is your business on track for meeting goals you put in place for the upcoming year? Did you even put new goals in place for the new year? Did you hold a meeting to reflect on how your business performed in the previous year?
As a leader and as a business owner, it is important to set goals for your company. If you have not yet set goals for thisyear, it’s not too late! A great way to get started is by holding a New Year Reflection Meeting. By doing so, you will be able to answer some tough questions about the performance of your company over the previous year, which will then allow you to set appropriate goals for moving forward in the current year. We want to help you develop your New Year Reflection Meeting.
In order to position your company so that you can create and achieve goals for the new year, you must put in the work up front. You’re going to need facts and figures from the previous year, collaboration from your team, and a strategy. Here’s how you get started:
Step 1: Gather Information
-Meet with your accountant, attorney, compliance and HR professionals, and other key advisors to gather information about the past year.
-Meet with your executive team and get their feedback regarding the past year. You can even take it one step further by sending out a company-wide survey for your staff to complete anonymously.
-Review your current systems and procedures; determine what is working and what is not working.
Step 2: Evaluate The Information.
Ask yourself the following questions:
-Was your business successful in the previous year?
-In what areas did your business do well? What areas could be improved?
-What opportunities will help grow your business?
-Does your current strategy make sense for your business goals?
-Is your business running in harmony with your mission, vision, and values?
-What threats hinder your company’s success? What is holding you back?
Step 3: Plan Your Approach
-Eliminate what isn’t working, and refine what is working.
-Set realistic goals for this year based on the information you have collected.
-Assign tasks to executive team that include “by when” dates for achieving goals.
-Create a follow-up strategy and checkpoints for monitoring goals.
Step 4: Execute
-Introduce your plan to the entire company. Thank everyone for their hard work over the past year and let them know the goals for the upcoming year.
-It’s time to take action and work towards the goals by the deadlines given!
-Monitor progress and course-correct as needed.
These steps will reorganize your approach for the new year and set your organization up for success.