Saying Goodbye to 2009

Filed in archive Tips on December 28, 2009

© Coso Blues


As you prepare to say your final goodbye to 2009, take a moment to think about what you and your company has accomplished in the last year. The New Year is always a time of reflection, a time where we consider what we've done before. So let's take a moment and write down the accomplishment of the past 265 days.

A lot of leadership and better business books talk about writing down your goals. I know it sounds silly but it seems like when you write things down they become more real.

So let's consider what you should write down about the past year. Remember this is a learning experience, to give you hope for the upcoming year and to see where you can improve. There are four main areas you should set goals in and consider how far you've gotten. The four quadrants you should pay attention to are: financial, clients, reputation and community.

For the financial area, think about the actual numbers. How much have you earned? Are your percentages better than last year? Have your quarterly average increased? Take those number and write about where you were and where you've gone.

The next section is clients. Are your clients happier now than they were before? Do you have more of them? Do they say nice things about you? Really take a moment to evaluate your relationships with your clients in the past year.

When you consider your company reputation what comes to mind? Are you better known? Does your brand have higher recognition? What kind of feelings do people have when they think of your.

The third section is community. You can make money and make your clients happy but how is your company contributing to the community around it? Are you making a difference? It had better be more than just your bottom line.

So do you feel like you've accomplished more this year than last year?