Wrap Up for 2017 and Planning for the New Year

Senior Strategic Partner, Charles Parnell, has some sage words of advice on the topic of wrapping up and closing out 2017 and what needs to be thought about for 2018. We hope you enjoy this week’s Power Idea. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or need some guidance regarding some of these suggestions.

As the calendar year approaches the end, organizations will be finalizing their business activities. They will engage in an analysis of their overall business. They will determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Because the business climate is organic and changing, it requires a spotlight on key business components and indicators coupled with action plans for targeted execution.

Here are some specific business components for analysis for the concluding and coming year with questions:

• Did our employees increase their competencies and meet their SMART goals?
• Were we able to recruit, manage, develop and retain superior talent?
• Did our marketing and sales plans drive our business shortcomings or success?
• Did we meet our revenue forecast?
• Were our operating costs in line with our budget?
• Is our total compensation package (salaries and benefits) in line with the market?
• What is our competitive landscape and the market needs?
• Did we have the proper amount of innovation in the development of our products or services to exceed the needs of our customers?
• Did we thoroughly explore the value of self-managed and self-directed teams and their empowerment?
• Did we execute the elements of our strategic plan to success?
• Is our organizational culture fostering inclusion and upward mobility opportunities?

Organizations will need to answer these questions in order determine if they’re going to grow their businesses and compete in a knowledge based, inter-connected global marketplace. The answers to these questions will assist them in gauging the degree to which their employees are increasing their competencies to contribute to the organizational strategic goals. This analysis will also assist the organization to recruit, manage, develop and retain superior talent.

The discourse in organizations is that a careful analysis of current activities with corrections for the coming year will maximize the prospects for success. Please tackle the foregoing with candor and vigor!