CEO Corner with Tate Holt: Making the Most from This Year-end

The best way to make the most out of this year-end is to get a great start on next year.  Since you can’t start something until you know where you want to go, it’s time to set some goals.

When setting our goals, we’re not going to produce a big report that ends up in a three-ring binder, we’re making a one-page plan for your business that you can refer to and think about every day.  There are only a few ground rules:

1. You can only have three objectives.
2. It must address your entire business.
3. It must be in writing.

To start, write down ten things about your business that you’d like to improve. Sales?  Profits?  Number of Customers?  Add new products or fulfillment capacity?  Growth?  Change of – or new – location?  Change of – or new – employees?  Having more fun?  Taking home more income? Cutting costs?

Got ten written down?  OK; now prioritize them, because you can only work on three at a time. I know, it’s tough, so try the “forced choice” process.  Pick the most important goal.  Then, from those remaining on your list, pick the most important goal.  Repeat this once more, and you have your list of your top three objectives for the year.

Write these three goals down on a clean piece of paper, and you’re halfway done with your plan! No, it’s not crazy.  If you concentrate on just three things – and do them well – your business will improve and you can work on the NEXT three.

In my next post, I’ll show you how to finish your plan!