We’ve all been there, new year, new you, resolutions made to lose weight, give up alcohol or smoking, or take up new hobbies. The list is endless. For many business owners the new year is also a time to start considering changes and improvements to their companies. Maybe becoming more organised or increasing productivity and profits, possibly there’s a plan to focus on expansion or focussing on new markets.
Despite our best laid plans and resolve, it’s a sad statistic that the majority of resolutions never make it past 21 days and U.S. News reports that by mid-February 80% of our well-considered promises to ourselves will have fallen by the wayside. So, if we find it hard to make changes to our personal circumstances, how can we manage to make lasting and effective changes in our businesses?
Set SMART goals
Setting a resolution can sometimes be quite vague. Vagueness can also lead to unrealistic expectations. In much the same way that some of us find ourselves desperately standing on our bathroom scales after two days of dieting wondering why that spare tyre still hasn’t shifted, it’s difficult to create marked improvement in your business when you don’t know what you’re aiming for.
SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time sensitive and are the best way of assessing what you need to do to make changes, how you will achieve them and, once you’ve put measures in place, whether any changes have worked.
Write them and share them
Writing down your SMART goals helps you to visualise them and also helps you to share them with the rest of your team. After all, there’s no point having a goal for your business if the rest of your staff don’t know what it is.
Letting your team know that you plan to make changes also provides them with the opportunity to contribute ideas towards how you plan to achieve them. Pulling in people with different skillsets to work towards a goal can be extremely beneficial.
Set yourself a target
A very easy way to ensure that you stick to a resolution is to sign up for a course. Whether that is online learning or a Management Development Programme, enrolling in a course that is spread over a number of months can help to keep you on track and can also assist in meeting some of your SMART goals.
Accept and embrace failure
If you speak to any teacher they will tell you that students learn just as much from getting things wrong as they do from getting things right (possibly more so). If one of your resolutions doesn’t work or come to fruition think about why it didn’t. A simple example could be “well, I joined the gym, but didn’t lose weight or get a six pack”. Joining a gym is positive, but there are many reasons why the results may be lacking. Maybe you didn’t go often enough or were using the wrong machines. Maybe a gym isn’t the right option and, instead, a personal trainer might have been more useful.
Considering why something has failed can save time, money, and tears in the future.
Stop comparing yourself and your business
It’s very easy to look at our competitors and to compare our businesses. It’s also extremely negative. The key to making any lasting and meaningful change is to focus on your business and your team. You have no idea what goes on in other businesses and perceived success might not always be what it seems.
Enjoy it
Any changes you make should be about growth and enjoyment. The last thing you want or need is for you and your staff to be bogged down in unachievable and depressing targets. That’s not good for morale. Try to create goals that you and your team can be proud of achieving and that will help you to make further improvements.
If you do find that you’ve created new targets and goals and morale is beginning to drop or you just aren’t hitting them, it may be time to call in some experts. Dakota Blue Consulting are always happy to advise and assist businesses of all shapes and sizes.