Key Catalysts to Make 2007 a Banner Year

As 2006 comes to a close, it’s essential for business owners to pause, reflect and determine what actions are required to improve business results in 2007. You’ve probably heard that the definition of “insanity” is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result, so if you’re tired of the insanity in your business, it’s time for change! To help you in your quest for change, the following strategies are catalysts that can help launch you into a more successful and productive 2007:

Reflection
To facilitate learning and change, take time to reflect and conduct a “postmortem” in all areas of your business. Using the principle of Zero Based Thinking, ask yourself the following question, “Knowing what I know now, if I were start this business all over again, what would I stop doing, start doing, do more of and do less of? You should also do a S.W.O.T.T. analysis of your business. What are your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and Trends in your business? Make sure to incorporate your team in your analysis of these questions. In addition to the above exercises, ask yourself the questions below as you reflect on 2006:

What goals didn’t I accomplish in 2006 and why?
What changes do I personally need to make in order to get better results in 2007?
What changes need to occur in order to improve my team, our business environment and our culture?
What changes need to occur in order to improve our products, services and customer satisfaction?

Vision
Many of the challenges that business owners face today stem directly from a lack of vision. A vision is a statement about what your organization wants to become. It should enlist and inspire your team members to feel proud and excited about being part of something much bigger than themselves. Visions range in length from a couple of words to several pages, but I recommend shorter vision statements (as they will be more memorable). As an example, our vision statement at Action International is, “World Abundance Through Business Re-Education.” You should also have a more descriptive vision of what you want your business to look like when it’s finished. For example:

What does your ideal organization look like on a physical level (i.e, Revenues, Profits, # of locations, # of employees, ideal customers, marketshare, etc)?
How will you know when you have achieved what you most desire?
What legacy do you want to leave behind?

In short, your vision is your “WHY!” It provides the inspiring, motivating force to propel you and your business to greater heights. If you have a big enough “why”, you can achieve any “what” that you want.

Goals & Action Plan
Another key catalyst to your success in 2007 is defining specific, measurable goals and outlining a clear action plan to achieve those goals. The power of written goals is illustrated by a very powerful study conducted with the 1979 class of Harvard MBA graduates. After interviewing that graduating class, they found that 84% had no written or verbal goals for what they wanted to accomplish in their lives; only 13% had verbal goals and just 3% had written goals. Ten years later they interviewed that same graduating class and found that the top 3% who had written goals were earning ten times the income as the other 97% combined! Do you have written goals in your business that you review on a regular basis? Do you also have a written action plan that outlines, in detail, how you plan to accomplish your goals?

Accountability
The final catalyst to launch you into a great 2007 is creating the necessary accountability you need in your business. Many fail to achieve their goals and actions plans because they lack the personal discipline and accountability to get it done. Find someone to hold you accountable; someone to whom you will have to report your progress to on a regular basis. Increase your accountability and you will most certainly increase your results.

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