So it’s December … holidays are in full swing. You might be wading through the aisles, trying to pick out the perfect gift of your spouse or children or coworkers. You might be planning some holiday event or baking cookies galore (because – let’s admit it – everyone loves cookies). But there’s something else you need to be doing: planning.
I know, I know, it’s tough. We realize we’re nearing the end of the year. We know the New Year will start with a bang and if we are not prepared, we won’t hit the ground running. (If we keep baking these cookies, there will be no running of any kind.) But it’s so easy to get caught up in other things that planning takes a back seat during the time that it’s most important. How can we enjoy the festive season while effectively preparing for the year to come?
Here are a few practical tips to keep business success in mind throughout the month:
- Host a business brainstorming party.
Yes, bring the cookies or the fruitcake, and celebrate wins of the past year, but make the main focus of this event brainstorming for the year ahead. It can be a small gathering of your company’s movers and shakers. It could be a larger event in which you ask for each member of your team to submit a practical idea for business growth in the year ahead. Your people are amazing and they just need some prompting to share their creative ideas about the business.
- Take stock of your business-life balance.
We all have work life, and home life, and sometimes the lines between the two grow faint or blend together. Spend some time outlining your home life priorities, and your work priorities, for the coming year. Then outline a rough schedule so you have confidence, coming into the New Year, that you will be able to maintain a good balance and make time for the most important things.
- Throughout December, determine action steps for the upcoming year.
Make it part of your daily or weekly routine to begin setting specific goals for the upcoming year, and outlining steps to reach those goals. The earlier you start thinking about it and the clearer those steps are, the easier it will be to launch into the New Year with vision, focus, and momentum.
By all means, enjoy time with friends and family, coworkers (and cookies), but in the midst of it all, keep the year ahead in focus, determining that 2016 will be the best year so far for your business and every member of your company!
Grow Big or Go Home!