A New Year – A New Start

by Lorraine Hart

Now that a new year is upon us, it’s time to evaluate or re-evaluate our goals and plans for our lives and our businesses.

As I was reflecting on the upcoming New Year, one of my favorite quotes came to mind.  In his “Code of Honor” author and management expert L. Ron Hubbard stated

 “Never regret yesterday.  Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow.”

Let’s look at how this applies to each of us and specifically how it is relevant at this time of year as we review that long list of resolutions.

We have all established goals, decided that we would venture forth on some new road to only later realize that we didn’t quite make it.  So now that we clearly see that we didn’t achieve this new dream– what do we do?

The tendency is all too often to find blame.  It may be that there is someone else around all too handy to blame, and if not there is always self-blame.  This is where the code of honor comes in.  The next time you want to beat yourself a little, try this:  decide to not regret yesterday; realize that life and your abilities really do exist, and then decide to create your future.

Now that you have forgiven yourself for not being perfect, it’s time to move forward.  Start by deciding what you want both for your business as well as yourself and your family.  If you haven’t already done so, write all your thoughts down.  At this point they can be vague dreams, ideas or concrete objectives.  As you move forward with the planning you can crystallize these thoughts.

Using a tool called the “Administrative Scale”, Hubbard lays out the elements for achieving your goals.  He states:

“The achievement of one’s goals, no matter how large or small the endeavor, relies on goals, purposes and activities being aligned and organized.”

Not only is it important to write down your various goals, you also want to make sure they support each other.  Once you have your goals written down it may be necessary to break them up into sub-goals. To ensure success in achieving these goals, it is important to establish concrete plans.  To make these plans workable it may be necessary to write up the steps to get there.  These comprise your programs and project plans.

In creating your plans, it’s best to review all areas of your business including public relations and marketing, sales, structure and organization, staffing, and finance.

For example, within the public relations and marketing area, you might want to consider revamping your website, your social media presence or any advertising programs you have.  Remember to consider entering award programs such as CotY, in which case you should make sure you plan for photographing your projects.  Another area to consider is ongoing education and certifications.  As we all know, certifications serve a dual purpose.  The learning will help you and your staff in doing better work, and the certifications can be effectively used in your marketing.

I recommend that you review each area of your business noting what has been successful and what changes would be beneficial to your business.

The advantages of writing all this down should be obvious.  By writing it down you can clear your head.  By having a written plan to follow you will be able to make steady progress toward the goal.  So make this year a year of stellar achievements.

For more information on the administrative scale or a copy of the code of honor, email me at Lorraine@idealconsulting.net.

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Lorraine Hart