HAPPY NEW YEAR! Are You Ready?
By Brad DeSent, Program Manager, HTG Online, HTG Peer Groups
As we turn the page on a new year, you should ask yourself if you’re ready. This is our time to reset the counters. While we are in school we have semesters to conveniently break up our work into manageable divisions. You finish the course, get a grade, and move on to the next one. Good bad or indifferent, you have a forced fresh start.
But in the big R.W. (Real World), the only reset we get is once a year in January when we reset the counters and begin anew. There are many measurements in business but the January 1st reset gives us a chance to reflect on key areas that will drive success in the short and long-term. Here are a few areas I have found helpful over the years:
- Check your progress against long-term legacy goals. These involve health, wealth, and happiness. You should have targets and be intentional about getting there. You can save your way to being a millionaire if you start in your 20s. It’s not so easy if you wait until you’re 50.
- Professional development. Strive to be a lifelong learner. There is always something new to learn either personally or professionally. Push yourself and encourage others to learn a new skill to help you and your team improve and be a better team.
- Business health. Much happens in a year with your business, your employees, clients, and business processes. Complete a quick assessment and look at what you’ve accomplished this year. If you’re like most people, you attempt to get more done than you actually can. As you set priorities for the New Year, think about how to prioritize initiatives to complete them and not just start.
- Market conditions. Trends are always changing, and you must consider what will cause you to adjust your business focus in the year ahead. In the IT arena, trends continue to drive the market toward cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and focusing on business opportunities over technology.
Set your plan for the year ahead. Yogi Berra gets it right with his thought: “If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.”
There are many studies that reinforce the idea that having a written plan dramatically improves your chances of achieving your goals. One of the most valuable results of having a written plan is checking where you are against where you thought you would be at a particular moment in time. This is very effective when adjusting to business and market conditions. It helps you build confidence in setting strategic objectives, asking the right questions and making the decisions to get there.
A new year always holds much promise. Being intentional about making the most of it is usually what propels us over settling into the same grooves we did last year.
So go out and make the most of your “semester break” that lasted about 60 seconds as the counters reset when the clock struck midnight.
Make it a great and prosperous 2016!
A noted thought leader and synergist, Brad DeSent brings to HTG Peer Groups more than 25 years of senior management, technology consulting and business operations experience with expertise across a broad range of sectors. DeSent has played an integral role in establishing and propelling several highly successful start-up technology firms and communities. As program manager for HTG Online, his responsibilities include developing the HTG Online program framework and curriculum and recruiting members. DeSent works closely with HTG members helping them improve operations and improve results. He can be reached at: bdesent@htgpeergroups.com and on Twitter @bdesent.
This article originally appeared at http://htgpeergroups.com/blog/entry/happy-new-year-are-you-ready.html