{"id":27799,"date":"2021-01-28T19:15:20","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T01:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesv4.aligntoday.com\/blog\/new-years-business-resolutions\/"},"modified":"2021-01-28T19:15:20","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T01:15:20","slug":"new-years-business-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aligntoday.com\/blog\/new-years-business-resolutions\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year\u2019s (Business) Resolutions – Keep it Simple"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doron Klemer<\/a>, Align Advisor<\/em><\/p>\n

In the 1960s, the US Navy coined a phrase to describe a best practice in design: K.I.S.S, or Keep It Simple, Stupid. (For those who like their acronyms less confrontational, it is also known as Keep It Short and Simple, among other things).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same can be said for changes in business practices introduced with the start of the new year. Big shifts in methodology may sometimes be necessary, but <\/span>small tweaks to what you are already doing<\/span> can go a long way on the path to company-wide change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your New Year\u2019s Resolutions are already behind schedule, try picking just one of the following areas to implement one positive change in the coming week, month, or quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

When to make a change<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Daniel H.Pink in his classic business book \u2018When\u2019 points out that New Year\u2019s Day is one of many \u2018temporal landmarks\u2019 throughout the year when people attempt to change<\/span>\u00a0their habits. New Year\u2019s Day is the most obvious, and you may well be in the middle of following one of these resolutions right now…or wondering how it has already gone off track.<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter when you start though – a new quarter, financial year, or a company anniversary work just as well as January 1st – adopting simple, effective new habits will ensure that they are more successful and last longer than the average New Year\u2019s Resolution, and not become the dusty, unused gym memberships of early February. Here are a few to try.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep track of meeting results<\/b><\/h2>\n

Serial entrepreneur Richard Branson<\/a> has one piece of advice which can be implemented immediately by anyone, anywhere: write it down. Meetings can be fast and furious, but having everything written down, and available for later review and action, is essential.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how big, small, simple or complex an idea is, get it in writing. But don\u2019t just take notes for the sake of taking notes, go through your ideas and turn them into actionable and measurable goals. If you don\u2019t write your ideas down, they could leave your head before you even leave the room.\u201d- Richard Branson<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Focus on one thing each day<\/b><\/h2>\n

Barry Schwarz\u2019s best-seller \u2018The Paradox of Choice\u2019 highlights the difficulty of choosing what task to tackle first each day. Even having just two choices can be a drag and leave you feeling like the eponymous animal in the fable of Buridan\u2019s donkey – stuck between two equally delicious piles of hay, and starving to death when it can\u2019t decide which to go for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start each day by having a single Top Priority, something you promise to yourself (and your team) to get done before anything else. This was part of the revolutionary idea consultant Ivy Lee taught to Charles Schwab over a century ago which earned him the equivalent of almost half a million dollars: attack the first thing on your list before you move on to anything else. That is, after all, the literal definition of a priority: prior to anything else!<\/span><\/p>\n

Be transparent<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u2018Business philosopher\u2019 may be one of the coolest job descriptions out there, and Dov Seidman is a thought leader in the field. His company LRN set out to measure the importance of culture in companies, and as he told John Doerr, in his seminal book \u2018Measure What Matters,\u2019 their annual HOW report found that \u201cthere was no more cultural force than \u2018active transparency.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply ensuring that your entire team knows what everyone is working on, the bigger goals they are building to, and how they are progressing, ensures connection, collaboration, and cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check-in regularly with your team<\/b><\/h2>\n

David Brent, from the UK version of hit TV show \u2018The Office,\u2019 may have been onto something when \u2018incorrectly\u2019 guessing that his staff was more important to his business than the customer:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n