After the rush of Christmas was over last week, I did two things that I haven't done in years: first, I cleaned out my freezer and sadly threw away an entire garbage bag full of spoiled food and secondly, I repaired everything in my neglected "mending" basket, from a pair of beloved hiking socks with a hole in the heel to my daughter's sweater button that had dropped off.
It felt so productive to tackle those two big jobs that I decided to write down a list of business aspirations for 2013. I call them aspirations rather than resolutions. Resolutions seem to carry the burden of disappointment with them; I could fail to achieve a resolution before the year is done. Aspirations, on the other hand, are intentional but I can't fail to aspire to anything. I may veer off track but it would be only temporary.
My aspirations for this year, as they pertain to business, are as follows:
I will start each day by doing one thing that matters to me. Before I open my email or return any phone calls, I intend to check one important task off my to-do list first. I hope that by starting the day off on the right foot, I will engage in less "busy" non-strategic work by maximizing my energy towards accomplishing my pre-set goals.
I aspire to care for my business by creating more long-range plans. So often in business we get caught in survival mode where we fix what is broken without planning to replace or maintain what works now, but may fail us later. Annual work plans and budgets do not often account for long-term planning and yet forecasting 3-5 years out allows us to get ahead of things. If you have a technology replacement policy for example, and you replace your office computers on a fixed schedule, you will enjoy the pleasure of reliable computer systems without "crashes" and lost information.
And finally, I aspire to schedule time to regularly recognize and thank people for helping me succeed in business. Gratitude is always in style. When we get off the treadmill and recognize how others are helping us achieve our goals it works to attract additional positive energy. A simple thank you note for a referral or an invitation to treat a colleague to a coffee is one step towards celebrating what is right with the world.
I encourage you to make time to focus on setting your goals for 2013 and to work towards achieving them. You could start by registering for the January 16th (8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m) morning workshop facilitated by Dr. Franzi Ng called "Mastering Performance: From Crapshoot to Certain Success". Franzi will offer a new model of performance that provides you with an actionable pathway to improving your results in significant and predictable ways. Join us to discover a new law of performance and begin using it immediately to boost your results in areas that matter to you. There are still seats available by registering online: www.pgchamber.bc.ca or by phoning the Chamber at 250-562-2454.
Until next time, stay in the black and keep coming back.
Jennifer Brandle-McCall is CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
