“Get a Step Ahead With Your Personal Mid-Year CEO Retreat”
Do you feel like you are a step behind or that your business is off-track? Your revenue is off for the year, your income is off, you are not adding the new clients you wanted, or you are not where you wanted to be by this time of the year? Perhaps you have forgotten about “the track” all together, forgotten about the goals you set in the beginning of the year. The good news is the year is not over yet, and there is still time to get back on track to make this year your best year yet!
Now that we are more than halfway through 2010 it is a great time to set aside some time to review your goals and intentions for 2010, to see if you are on-track or off-track and make adjustments to finish the year strong. I like to call this my “Personal CEO Retreat”. It is time I set aside a couple of times a year to evaluate where I am, where the business is, and where together we are headed.
It is helpful to hold your “Personal CEO Retreat” in a location other than the place you work on a daily basis. Whether you work in an office or from home choose a location for your retreat that is different from your everyday work space. It can be a fun out of town location or as simple as a different place in your home, or a coffee house. Often changing your geography, or physical location, can help change your perspective and open up your thinking.
So the purpose of this retreat is to review the year to day, look at what’s working, what’s not working, and to examine what is coming up for the remainder of the year. You will need a few supplies for your “Personal CEO Retreat”,
1. Your goals, intentions, and vision for this year. Where do you want to be at the end of this year? Now is the time to revisit the goals you set in the beginning of the year and notice where you are. This is not a time to beat yourself up if you are not yet where you wanted to be, and remember there is still time to get there. For now just get back in touch with your goal and plan for the year.
2. Your numbers and a calculator. Bring along your financials and marketing metrics for the year. Pull out those highlighters and review your financials, customer numbers, and sales information. Highlight the numbers that are on-track for the year in one color and highlight the numbers that are off-track in another color. This will give you an at a glance view of what’s on track and what might need some extra time and attention.
3. A calendar to map out your plan for the rest of the year. Map out what is coming up for the rest of the year. Add any special promotions, new product launches, and special events to your calendar.
4. Your “Business Journal” or a notebook. A business journal is a great place to capture and keep all of your ideas in one place. It is a place to write down your thoughts and those “great ideas” that pop into your mind. When you write them all down in your business journal you have them all in one place, safe and secure, until you are ready to revisit them. Flip through your business journal and see if there are any additional things you would like to implement or focus on for the remainder of the year and add them to the calendar.
5. Your imagination and creativity. Don’t forget to bring with you your most important business asset, your imagination and creativity. There is always a way around, through, or over any challenge or problem. Use your imagination to brainstorm ways you can reach your goal for the year and use your creativity to map out the action steps to get there.
Whether you are on track or off track for the year don’t forget to acknowledge and congratulate yourself for all the things you have accomplished this year. Recognize and acknowledge your successes and build from there. So set aside some time this week for your “Personal CEO Retreat” to review your strategy to make this year your best year yet. Don’t forget the year is not over until the ball drops in Time Square!
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