I love year-end. From a personal point of view, the holidays are such a terrific time, filled with family, food and friends. A Thanksgiving turkey, a beautiful ham, catching up with old friends, kids opening presents – it doesn’t get much better.
It’s also a great opportunity for businesses. For many of us, from a business perspective, the holidays slow things down just a little bit. It’s the perfect time to ask yourself a few questions:
What did we do well this year?
In what areas can we do better?
Which clients should we focus even more attention on in 2012?
Which current clients should we consider dropping?
Do we need additional resources to be more successful?
Review your staff. Add? Delete? Train?
Of course, based on your business, there are additional questions that should be asked, but the key is to start asking, start reflecting and start planning. So, grab a cup of eggnog (with whatever special additives make it work for you), key members of your team and sit down for a few hours of candid, forward looking and thinking conversation and planning. If you do so, you’ll be taking a huge step toward a more successful 2012 and isn’t that a great gift to give yourself?
-Scott Harris
President