The fact is, as business owners, we achieve more in a month than most people do in 12 months
Just as the Gallagher brothers sang in 1995, “Don’t look back in Anger” is a good motto to have at this time of year.
Firstly, I can’t believe that song came out in 1995! That’s 22 years ago but it feels like yesterday.
Secondly, I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year from myself and my family. This is a great time of year to spend with family and friends and to really appreciate life in general. With that in mind, I hope 2017 has been a great year for you.
December is a funny old month. It’s full of frustrations, happiness and holidays.
Frustrations, because if you are trying to get stuff done or projects over the line, there is a lot of lethargy out there. Many people seem to shut off and leave decision making until the New Year. As someone who likes to maximise every day, that attitude and work ethic can frustrate the hell out of me. It’s probably an employee v entrepreneur battle that is a difficult one to win against the masses.
Happiness, well even the most hardened of Scrooges succumb to the Christmas spirit eventually, normally after a glass or two of the hard stuff at the Christmas party.
Holidays, as an entrepreneur and business owner, let’s be frank, there’s no better time to unwind and enjoy a holiday. It’s pretty much the only time when 99% of the business world shuts down and that means the email isn’t pinging and the phone isn’t ringing. Unless you are in the Armed Forces or in Retail then this is unwinding time.
I try to use the back end of December for some reflection time. In fairness, I am a lot better at reflection now than I was when I first started down this lonely road.
Originally, I was always hard on myself for not getting anywhere or not doing enough or not having this or that. It would be an endless backside kicking session. I think as business owners we are notoriously hard on ourselves and that message gets repeated all the time on calls and on the forum. It seems we have a twisted view of reality to even see how far we have come and how much we have achieved.
I know that when I met some of my coaching clients or sit with the guys in my Mastermind Group, we constantly hear, “Oh, I’ve been so lazy this past month/quarter/year, I just haven’t done anything”. When prompted by a “Oh really, what have you done?” It’s then followed by a list as long as your arm about increased sales, new customer initiatives, customer service wins, new projects, etc, etc, blah, blah. It’s always accompanied with a moment of silence, a wry smile and a sheepish look that betrays the reality of the situation.
The fact is, we as business owners achieve more in a month than most people do in 12 months. We speed through life at a million miles an hour, constantly fighting the fight and pursuing the dreams and ambitions we have for us, our businesses and our families.
I also use some of December to just take a moment and look how far I’ve come in the past 12 months.
That isn’t all about business, I try to look at the 3 main areas in life, business, health, relationships. Are each one in a better place than they were last year. I ask myself “What have I done this year?” “What can I be proud of?”, “What would I have done differently?”, “Where did I win?”, “Where did I learn?”.
If you note the last one, I could have easily put, “Where did I lose?”, but that isn’t in my thinking. Those fails or setbacks inevitably lead to your greatest learns. So, as opposed to wiping them from your memory banks, dissect them and see what you got out of those experiences. In addition, recall some of the big wins or the progress you have made over the last year. As I have already said, these may not be solely in your business, they could be in your golf handicap, the fact you have had a date night every month, anything that has given you some happiness and progression over the year.
We always keep harping on about Prepare, Participate and Reflection here in Renegades and it’s for a good reason. The genius is in the process, but particularly in reflection.
“What have I done this year?
What can I be proud of? What would I have done differently? Where did I win? Where did I learn?”
When I personally look back at this year, it has certainly been an eventful one. The business has seen steady growth but not where we wanted it to be. I could view that negatively but the key word on reflection is “growth”! We made some poor hires this year which have set us back a bit, but we have amended our hire process and that worked really well for several new staff that we recruited in the last half of the year. We’ve invested a lot of time and effort into developing and implementing new processes and procedures within the business and that is starting to reap rewards. Is the business on a better footing today than a year ago – a definitive yes from me.
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On a personal note, as a family we have had some great holidays and enjoyed a few weeks as a family unit. As the children grow, enter University and leave the nest, this time is really important to all of us. In addition, I managed to tick a number of activities off the bucket list this year. My trip to New Zealand allowed me to raise over £120,000 for a charity that is very close to my heart and I even managed to watch the British and Irish Lions play a game. As a Welshman, it doesn’t get better than rugby!!
It’s these quiet times that enable the reflection process, so use December to reflect positively about the year just gone and don’t look back in anger!!
I am so much looking forward to 2018.
