In the current economic environment having a personal strategic plan is more important than ever. Here are my Quick and Dirty Tips for getting ready for the New Year.
Smart people all over the globe are pausing to take stock of the year that has past and plan for the year ahead. When I say pause, I mean these forward looking people have set aside time on their calendar to sit quietly, with no distractions, to consider both successes and failures, and to put in writing their personal strategic plan for the New Year.
Now don’t confuse this with New Year Resolutions. Making a wishful promise about something you are going to do is way different than sitting down to set goals and craft a plan. In fact, if you were to take time to observe or talk to successful people you would quickly discover that they don’t make New Year Resolutions.
New Year Resolutions are just empty promises, built on a foundation of hope (or perhaps delusion), and only serve to make you feel better in the short term. New Year Resolutions fool you into a false sense of security that you are actually doing something to make yourself better. Because of this you fail at, or put off, setting real goals and making real plans.
Unfortunately, hope is not a strategy. The failure to heed this principle in today’s volatile economy could have dire consequences to your career, finances, and family. This year developing a comprehensive set of goals and a plan for attaining those goals in more important than ever. You simply cannot afford to put this off or replace planning with empty resolutions. In the New Year, despite the current economic crisis, opportunities for success will be abundant. Smart people know this and are preparing to seize those opportunities. The question you must ask yourself today is, “Am I willing to do the hard work of planning and goal setting so that I capture these opportunities?” or “Will I rest my fortunes on empty promises and hope?”
The Sales Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for New Year Planning
Block Time – The first step to developing a comprehensive plan for the New Year is set aside time to actually plan. Most people never do this. They don’t turn off their computer, phone, TV, blackberry, friends, family, and all of the other noise in their lives to just think. To build an effective plan you must do this. Block at least two hours on your calendar and keep that appointment with yourself.
Write It Down – The single biggest mistake people make when planning and goal setting is the failure to write it down. A plan is not a plan unless it is written down. You must put pen to paper and put your goals and targets into writing. To help you, we offer a free a free Power Principles Goalsheet at SalesGravy.com. You will find a link on the Sales Gravy Home Page. We also offer a more comprehensive planning workbook for free at: http://www.salesgravy.com/shop/product.php?productid=16207&cat=259&page=1 However, there are tons of great planning and goal setting tools available on the market. Just, find one that works best for you.
Develop Contingencies – The world is changing fast and the economic climate is unstable. Because of this it is important that you pre-plan for contingencies. What if you lose your biggest customer? What if your market shrinks? What if your top competitor goes out of business? What if you lose your job? What if you get promoted? Take time to consider and plan for the “what ifs” and no matter what happens you will be prepared to win.
Invest In Yourself – Make personal development a core part of your New Year Plan. The New Year is a blank slate. You have the opportunity to learn and grow as a person. What books will you read? What seminars, corporate training programs, and webinars will you attend? What audio programs will you listen to in your car between appointments or on the way to work? What blogs will you read? A year from now you will look back at the old year. Will you have regrets, will it have been wasted, or will you have achieved your goals and grown as a person? The plan you build today will answer that question.
This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy. If you have Sales Questions please send a note to salesguy@quickanddirtytips.com. I also encourage you to connect with me on Facebook, SalesGravy.com, LinkedIn, or Twitter. And be sure to join the Sales Gravy Group on Facebook. You can get the full transcript of this show and subscribe to more amazing podcasts at QuickandDirtyTips.com.
