By Beverly Lewis –
The calendar is flipping really fast and I admit to moments of nervousness when I see the inevitable countdown charts with the days left ’til Christmas. I’m focused on keeping it simple and enjoying the gifts in every day. Here are 12 strategies to help position each of us for a strong start in 2012.
1. Take a Leadership Assessment. I suggest one that’s free and readily available: ask two people on your team for feedback.
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2. Revisit the written vision statement for your team or project. If you can’t put your hands on it, craft a new one.
3. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals for the next 6 months. Specific, Measurable, Articulated, Realistic and Timely.
4. Implement the 3 x 3 rule. Make 3 calls to prospective clients or customers every day by 3 PM. Emails do not count – we’re talking phone calls!
5. Give away something that you want more of in your life.
6. Praise someone.
7. Take a brisk walk to clear your head.
8. Find a mentor. If you already have one, thank them.
9. Really listen to someone. God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth – listen twice as much as you talk today.
10. Delegate something meaningful.
11. Have a career/development discussion with a mentee.
12. Take inventory of underutilized assets, both tangible and intangible and make a plan to redefine and redeploy them.
I realize it might take more than 12 days to implement all of these things; my suggestion is to make sure you’ve scheduled at least a half day in the month of December for vision, goals and strategizing in a quiet place by yourself. Leave your office and go somewhere that inspires you and where you are uninterrupted. This time is extremely worthwhile and is guaranteed to pay rich dividends.
Beverly Lewis is the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) of LifePoint and co-founder of Slingshot Success. She works with business leaders and entrepreneurs as an executive trainer and coach, teaching innovative strategies to take the “dys” out of dysfunctional businesses and put the “fun” back into functional productivity. You can learn more about her at http://beverlyspeaks.com and on Twitter @beverlyspeaks.