Let’s pretend it’s December 2023, and you’ll give the obligatory “thank you” speech at the office Christmas party. You can relax and enjoy the holiday season because you have achieved all your business goals for the year. You were able to reward your hardworking staff with substantial bonuses and plan for strategic expenditures that will pay off in the long run, thanks to the success of this year. While you faced certain obstacles, you didn’t have to carry the world’s weight on your shoulders. Teamwork was outstanding.
A couple of things stick out as you consider what made the difference.
You Started the Year With Powerful Intentions
You and your fellow business owners took some time at the yearly owners planning retreat to discuss your company goals and personal lives. You rethought your exit plan and timing and established a target value for your company by that point. You’re now wondering how much money your company needs to make before you can sell it for the price you want.
Once you know how much money you want to make, you can utilize Breakeven PLUS analysis to figure out how much you need to bring in. Then, you create a budget to lay out the monthly financial plan for reaching your sales and profit targets.
You planned the financial aspects of your life and the lifestyle you hope to lead outside of work. On top of that, you’ve resolved to devote most of your time to activities that bring you the most satisfaction.
You’ve Briefed the Group on Your Objectives.
You and your team just returned from an off-site retreat, where you revealed your plans for the first time. They valued your trust and were pleased to learn about your intentions for the future. They discussed their dissatisfaction at being given too many tasks. Better uses of your time were suggested. This sparked a fascinating conversation regarding your strengths and your perceived weaknesses. You may have felt uneasy at times, but you had to grant that they made some valid arguments.
You and the Group Produced an Insightful Key Performance Indicator
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Scorecard detailing monthly targets related to your year’s targets was also developed at this meeting. The monetary targets were revenue, gross profit, labour costs, and cost-cutting. There were also targets for marketing, infrastructure, and client happiness.
You prioritized the most critical KPI targets for the year to keep your scorecard manageable (one page). It remained in the box score if it was important for progress toward the objectives. If it didn’t, it was gone.
Reaching the monetary targets was the simple part. Making visible progress toward leadership and ideal living goals was more challenging. One example is committing to spending at least 60% of each month on activities in which you excel and enjoy partaking with your team. This objective seemed vague to you then, but you went with it anyhow.
You Developed Key Opinion Leaders for Every KPI
There was a designated “Source Person” for each Key Performance Indicator target. This individual had ultimate accountability for success, but they might request help from others on the team or give them specific tasks. More people than you expected stepped up to offer their services as Source Persons for each Key Performance Indicator. You’ve designated yourself as the Key Information Provider for Leadership Metrics.
You Held SET Meetings Every Month to Discuss Key Performance Indicators
Starting in January, you convened your Strategic Execution Team once a month to review the previous month’s Key Performance Indicator (KPI) scorecard. When objectives were met or surpassed, you held a party; when they weren’t, you made changes. You were impressed by the creative approaches team members took to issues outside their purview.
You didn’t utilize this procedure to penalize anyone for poor performance, but it became clear that one of your team members was consistently falling short of their goals despite your best efforts to help them succeed. It was a difficult choice, but you made the right one and fired that employee. (Recently, you heard rumours to your delight that they had secured employment with your main rival.)
You may be surprised to learn that your monthly time target was a major contributor to your success. When you spent time on things that didn’t matter, your crew was quick to point it out. Different team members took over the tasks you detested throughout the year. They were far more adept at these activities than you were.
You were able to put in more time and effort “on” the business as opposed to “in” it this year. You discovered that you looked forward to going to work most days and that you were able to completely disconnect from work and other responsibilities on your days off. A new site, long a goal of yours, will finally become a reality. The new manager of your team will be one of the players who has stood out this year.
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