NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

It is traditional to begin the New Year by making a series of resolutions, or promises, about how we are going to change part of our behaviour. Over the years, people promise to stop drinking or smoking, do more sport, lose weight, take up a hobby… and so on. Indeed, in the British media, it is quite common for so-called celebrities to speak about their New Year’s resolutions.

Comedians often point out that these resolutions rarely last until the end of January… and it is easy to laugh at people who spend a lot of money on new sports clothes or signing up to join a gym, only to throw in the towel a few sessions later!

So what about the business world?

Here again, the month of January can be a graveyard for bold decisions that never really managed to lead to sustainable and successful actions. Quite a few of you will have begun the year determined to find a better job or get a salary increase, only to discover that the job market is so stagnant that it may be better to stay where you are in spite of everything. Or maybe you planned to spend less time at work and more time with your family? And what about contacting some of your former clients and seeing if it may be possible to work with them again?

Suffice it to say that even if these intentions are good - and seem like a good idea on paper - reality will soon kick in.

In other words, crisis management will perhaps take over from long-term planning, you’ll probably see yourself replying to work-related emails from home in the evenings and/or at the weekends, and as for making meetings shorter or more efficient…well, they might just appear to be as long and frustrating as before!

So, what’s the solution?

Alas-there is no magic wand or Astérix-style magic potion. Some of you may be influenced by the latest self-help manual, others may decide to work with a professional coach in order to define your targets and how to reach them.

Whatever technique you prefer, I do suggest focusing on a few key issues.

First of all - prioritise your tasks. Try to differentiate between what is urgent and important…and what is not. You probably know from experience which tasks have to be performed on a regular basis. Try to plan ahead so you can finish them on time and still leave some space for the unexpected tasks or crises that need to be managed.

Secondly - learn how to delegate. Some people find it difficult to do this; perhaps they feel they cannot trust others? Yet it can be a way for both encouraging and valorising your team while it also allows you to focus on the more important tasks that, in fact, only you can carry out.

Thirdly - remember to take pauses; just as you had a morning and afternoon break at school, as well as real period for lunch, you should aim to give yourself some free moments at work. If possible, stand up and sketch, look at something else rather than your computer and if you’re an adept of Sophrology, try breathing deeply with your eyes closed. An efficient pause can be useful in replenishing the energy you’ve just expended, and it could make you more efficient in focusing on your next task.

Number four - think about succeeding a major project… what do you need to get there? Do you have all the documents or flyers for that big trade fair? And what about your team; have they need a quick boost? In case you don’t know it, I suggest using the Ishikawa method here.

Number five – treat all your clients as VIPs. Whether they are high volume key accounts or relatively small, all clients like to feel important, just as you do! Experience shows that while it’s difficult to get clients, it’s very easy to lose them. In other words, keeping clients the client satisfied should be a priority…but that does not mean saying yes to all their requests of course. Sometimes, a refusal – followed by an explanation rather than a justification and backed up with an alternative proposal – can consolidate the important customer/supplier relationship. And if the customer trusts you because of your honesty…mission accomplished!

And finally- focus on your liberating beliefs rather than your limiting beliefs. So instead of thinking along the lines of “It won’t work…it never does”…what about “why not try a different strategy?” or even “I know there is a solution…I just haven’t found it yet!”

In conclusion, don’t just hope that things will get better – put all that is necessary in place to make sure that it does. Write down what you want to achieve and check where you really are every 3 or 4 weeks. If you need to change something, than do so… but if things are going well, congratulate yourself and keep going.

Remember that entrepreneurs like Henry Ford or Bill Gates didn’t get things right first time, the Beatles were rejected by many record companies before achieving success and as for Einstein… he was a poor student at school.

So go ahead and make your resolutions, but be prepared to get things wrong and to make mistakes… and try to learn from them so that you can keep moving in the general direction that you have chosen.

Maybe that should be your resolution for this year...