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Can First Quarter Resolutions Really Make A Difference In Your Business?

Forbes Coaches Council

Carl Gould is a business transformation expert with 7 Stage Advisors. His methodologies are practiced in over 35 countries.

The desire to be better in the new year is nothing new. In fact, New Year's resolutions can be traced back 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians. Maybe those traditions were a little different than ours (no need for us to crown a new king, for example), but taking time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the year ahead is still a good use of time.

In the corporate world, business owners and senior executives should set aside time in the first quarter to assess what happened in 2022 and map out the possibilities for their professional growth in 2023. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Assess your strengths and weaknesses.

If you consistently did well in some areas, this is the time to pat yourself on the back. But it's also time to think about how you can spend more time doing the things that you do best. This sets you up for more success in the coming year.

Conversely, you may be able to spot some repeated business mistakes. Were these errors avoidable? Should you have been better prepared, or were you attempting to manage parts of the business better left to a specialist? Take some time to think about how your weaknesses contributed to what went wrong. Can you structure your organization in ways that give you the tools you need to compensate for your weak spots? Or should you simply hand off some duties to other people?

2. Build measurements into your resolutions.

Don't bother with broad goals that you can't measure. Instead, be specific, and make sure you can measure success. For example, instead of thinking you want to "spend more time with clients," you might set a goal to "contact every client at least once a week." Instead of wishing you could "spend less time on budgeting," set a goal to "have accounting set up budget worksheets and fill them out" for you to review on a set day each month.

Want more time to spend mentoring team members? How much time will you set aside? Who will do the work you're no longer able to deal with? Assign numbers, make a plan and then hold yourself accountable to your goals.

3. Give yourself some easy wins.

Every goal doesn't have to be life or death. In addition to big, difficult challenges, build in some easy wins. For instance, maybe you spend less time in the breakroom by putting a coffee maker or mini fridge in your office. Park farther from the office to add some steps to your day. Perhaps you can ask your admin to keep stamps, thank you notes and birthday cards on hand for business and personal use.

Don't ignore issues just because they're small. And taking a few minor items off your to-do list can help motivate you.

4. Remind yourself.

Making New Year's resolutions is one way we plan to succeed. There's plenty of research out there that shows that writing down goals improves your chances of reaching them. In fact, a famous study found that you become more likely to achieve goals by writing them down each day.

Of course, these findings are not as magical as they sound. Daily reminders work because they help you remember to succeed. I do this myself. I start each day by writing down goals for the day, the year, the decade and my life. It reminds me of what I want to do, short-term and long-term. And when I remember my goals, I can make daily decisions that help me achieve them.

5. Plan for flexibility.

A lot can happen in a year, so your first-quarter plans may need to be revised down the road. That's okay. Reviewing your goals regularly and recognizing the need to modify them is also a win. You're aware of what's going on in the world around you and reacting appropriately.

For example, if you discover you can't spend five hours a week mentoring, modifying your plans to invest just two hours a week is still a win. Even if you need to put your mentoring efforts on hold for a while, keep it on your goal list in case you find ways to make time for it again later.

New year. New you.

We all can use an excuse to improve self-awareness, increase motivation, develop goals and stay accountable. So whether you call it New Year's resolutions or first-quarter planning, join in the ancient tradition of doing an annual reset. By developing a set of small and big goals, you can set yourself up for success in 2023.


Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?


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