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Planning for 2011

12/29/2010

With the holidays now behind us this last week of the year can be spent taking stock of the year AND planning for 2011. You can reflect on the year and begin to set goals for the new year by asking yourself the following questions:

-Did I accomplish my goals for the year?
-What were my biggest accomplishments?
-What were my biggest challenges?
-What were my biggest lessons learned?
-What do I need to let go of in order to start the new year off on a the right foot?
-What are my top goals for 2011?
-How can I prioritize my goals for 2011?
-How can I measure if I reach those goals?

I hope that these questions help you in understanding what worked and didn’t work for the year as well as helps you plan for the new year!

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How to Handle the Slow Down of the Holidays?

12/22/2010

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Is your business slow during the month of December as your clients are preparing for the holidays and your employees are focused on their time off? If so how do you ensure that you are still maximizing your business potential during this slow time? Here are a few tips on what to do:

Close out any last minute deals or details that you can. If you have any sales or targets that you haven’t achieved then put your full attention on them now while there is a little bit of down time. In January things will go into full swing again so there will be no time to finish these things up

Spend time with your employees. Focus on reviews for your employees as well as rewarding and congratulating them on what was accomplished or working with them to set new targets for the new year. Taking time at the end of the year to cherish your employees, coworkers, and clients shows them their value and what is truly important - the relationships that you have built with them.

Plan for the new year. If you have down time use it wisely. Begin to set your goals and plans for 2011. With less than a month left of the year it is perfect time to reflect on what you accomplished this year and make plans on what is most important to you next year. Put down your major goals and work with your team/clients to ensure that you have the best plan in place for a great 2011.

Take some time off. If you are like so many you work hard during the year and now is a time to spend with family and friends enjoying the holiday season. It is a time to rejoice, give back, and truly revel in the goodness and kindness of those around you. Take that time when you have to really spend with those you care for.

I hope you are enjoying the beginnings of the holiday season!

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“The Dip” by Seth Godin

12/15/2010

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Are you in a “Dip?” As Seth Godin describes it in his book – it is that place between beginner and mastery that inevitably happens to everyone. It is that spot that is in between the effort you have been putting in and the results that you want to see. If you are on the right track in terms of knowing that you can become a master in the area that you are working in then “the dip” is just something to persevere through. It is what distinguishes the ones who are excelling in their fields (experts) and the ones who are just mediocre. Mastery entails going through “The Dip” and becoming stronger through it, knowing that the dip is a challenge to step up your game and become the best you can be. It is a time to intensify your activities and effort and know that you are working in the right direction.

On the other hand those people who excel and persevere also know when the actions they are taking are leading into a cul-de-sac or an area that is really not going to have any returns or the returns that they desire. People who excel know when to quit and what to quit quickly so that they are not wasting time on areas that do not add value to where they truly want to go. They let go faster of cul-de-sacs so that they can spend their time on things that truly matter.

If you know you can truly excel at something and it totally suits your personality and strengths then persevering through the dip is the only thing that matters – keep going and keep making the strides necessary to excel in what you are doing and become an expert in your field. If you are struggling and know that to continue to persevere in this area will just lead to more heartache and non-results then it is time to let go and focus your energy on something where you can make the results that you so desire.

I agree with Seth that knowing when to persevere and when to let go are critical aspects for leaders especially in this time of economic uncertainty. It is standing tall in your belief and in your knowing that what you are spending your time on is worth all of the effort that you are exerting.

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Leadership in these Economic Times

12/8/2010

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With the economy going up and down in the last couple of years businesses have had to be nimble and resilient to ensure that they stayed afloat or prospered in this environment. Leadership in a time of change can be a career maker or a career breaker. How can you make sure that it a career maker? In order to progress in times when the environment is shifting all around you need to do the following:

Be open to new opportunities – as the environment is changing, leaders need to be open minded to new opportunities in their business. Although certain strategies may have worked during good economic times new strategies may need to be implemented to take the company through a down economy. What are new ways to keep ahead of your competition? Is it creating a joint venture that offers something that is a great complement to your business? Is it adding a new type of product that your customers are asking for and you know you could also implement well. What new opportunities are available to you if you just kept your ears open?

Let go of things that are not working – if there are things that you are doing that are no longer working then it is time to let it go. Although it may be something that you truly want to be doing, the market may just not be what it is looking for. Is there something that you have been trying to sell for a while without any results? Is there something that you keep trying to do and need to let it go? Being an effective leader also means letting go of what is not working in a timely manner so that you can put your energy into what is truly working.

Invest in your top performers – although during tough economic times you may want to cut down on expenses, you need to keep investing in your top performers. They are the bread and butter of your organization (especially service organizations) and they need to feel special even during the toughest times. Otherwise they will leave the minute that the economy is back on track. As is said in the book “Good to Great” Jim Collins says “getting the right people in the bus” is more important than even focusing on the right strategy. If you have the right people in the organization then you can ensure that you are creating the right strategy and continuing to create the results you want.

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Art of Leadership Blog

Planning for 2011

How to Handle the Slow Down of the Holidays?

“The Dip” by Seth Godin

Leadership in these Economic Times

Monica Thakrar

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