By Eric Woodruff, CPA
Manager, Audit & Assurance Services
Now is the time of year when people look back on 2017 to take stock of the good and the bad, both personally and professionally. If you’re the member of an organization, whether as an employee, manager or owner, this is the season for things like performance evaluations, making goals for the new year and setting budgets.
If you really want to feel satisfied when this time rolls around at the end of 2018, you need to develop a strong bias for ACTION, and avoid accepting the status quo of yesterday! Put together your plan for improvement, and put it into action – TODAY!
Not long ago we were speaking to a client who was talking about how 2017 was such a bad year for their company, but they had high hopes for 2018, with a list of plans to start doing in January. Our reaction was, if those steps will make a significant improvement in your operations and outcomes, why aren’t you doing them right now instead of waiting for New Year’s Day?
We all know how New Year’s resolutions tend to fade if you procrastinate about putting them into action right away. Without accountability and follow-up, they get put in a drawer and forgotten. So don’t wait for January 1 to get started!
If you’re an employee looking to move up the ladder at your firm, reflect on the things you’re not happy about from your last performance review, and set out a plan for improvement. Think about the skillset you want to build upon. Set benchmarks, such as monthly self-evaluations, to help measure your progress.
If you’re the owner or leader of a business, perhaps your plan of action is about increasing revenue or net profits, or articulating a vision for the future of the company. For a manager, your goals may have to do with improving operational efficiency and meeting the aspirations of the owners, or enhancing the working relationship you have with the team you supervise.
Most people find it difficult to truly hold themselves accountable. Endeavor to step back from your daily duties to give yourself some frank self-analysis that allows you to look for barriers to personal performance. Identify mistakes you’ve made, and take proactive plans not to repeat them.
If you start right away to set a really strong foundation for action in 2018, you’ll be better poised to ask the big question – “Am I satisfied?” – and come away with a positive answer a year from now.
Take the first steps now, even if it’s something as simple as scheduling time every month next year to do a self-evaluation of your progress, and perhaps asking colleagues and supervisors to give you feedback, too. Match their views with the self-assessments you perform to see where you are lacking.
The challenge is to open yourself up, be transparent and be willing to accept constructive criticism. If criticism is delivered in a positive way, it should be focused on ways of making you better. It can be hard to hear, but it gives you a solid plan going forward.
And don’t wait – start right now!
If you need any assistance with helping improve your organization, please call Eric Woodruff at (317) 613-7850 or email [email protected].