With the start of a new year comes the prospect of resolutions. Most of the time our resolutions are personal goals, however your resolutions don’t just have to be personal ones: you can also set resolutions for your business. Think of them as goals that will help your business to grow more successfully over the forthcoming year.
As we near the end 2021, now is the perfect time to reflect on your business’s past year and decide what you want to do differently next year, to ensure that your business is as successful as possible in 2022.
10 ideas to help your business transform
Take a proactive approach to your business plan
Business planning in so many businesses has become an annual cycle, with Boards developing strategic directions and goals ahead of the new financial year. Over the past two years we have learnt that business plans by quarter two or three in some instances are no longer fit for purpose, however Boards have not been quick enough to re-align or review. Therefore, as you enter 2022, ensure that as leaders you set yourself a personal goal to review your plan proactively. Think about grabbing a coffee and flicking through the plan every couple of months and asking is it still fit for purpose, have our markets changed, do we still have the right skills or resource to deliver this?
Embed frequent people planning reviews
Leading on from the need to proactively review your business plan, are you asking frequently enough what resource and skills you have to deliver the plan? Consider working with your HR team or external consultants to review your talent and succession plans. Effective businesses are discussing this monthly, but you may consider scheduling two annual ‘people days’, one ahead of the business planning cycle and one mid-way. Where are your succession gaps? Who is your top talent and what are you doing with them? How does your people strategy support these challenges? How do you ensure you have the correct resourcing strategy?
Review your organisation design and supporting processes
Once you have a grasp of your succession and talent pool you should next consider if you have the right people in the right place to support your plan. Is your organisational design constricting your growth as you no longer have the right skills to support the new direction? Are your reporting lines and hierarchy restricting decision making and innovation? Do you have the correct delegated authorities?
Decide on were to focus your technology
No doubt each internal team grapple annually for additional budgets to advance their teams technology. However, what is your strategic direction and are these functional requests aligned? Do your systems integrate or are teams duplicating information? Are your current systems still fit for purpose? Are you wanting to be seen as technology leaders in your markets?
Device a culture of adaptability
In a culture of accountability, employees at every level are personally committed to achieving key results targets set by the leaders of business, and they never wait to be asked for a progress report or follow- up plan. Maybe this sounds hollistic, but some simple steps will help to embed this ethos and see improved performance:
- Walk the talk
- Define your expectations and desired results
- Gain commitment
- Be open to feedback and problem solving
- Recruit accountable employees
- Coach employees on how to be accountable
- Consider consequences and reinforcement
- Hold each other accountable
Make sure change and transformation comes from the top
Any form of lasting change within your business must come from the top, particularly with the c-suite, managers and supervisors. It is often senior leaders who have the best experience and perspective to identify what change is require in the pursuit of the business’ goals. It can also result in rapid, short-term change; necessary to cope with evolving market shifts. However, a top-down approach fails if there is a lack of ownership within the rest of the business therefore this should be embedded alongside creating a culture of accountability.
Take advantage of disruption
Using or taking part in disruption allows a business to gain flexibility in its methods. Customers may also see businesses that create or implement disruptions as innovative. When you are on the lookout for disruption you are more likely to spot growth opportunities as well. True disruption can be risky so you will need to question if you and your business are prepared to put your heads above the parapet.
Work within your budgets
The budgeting process for businesses can be challenging, particularly if you are in a market in which customers don’t pay on time or revenue and sales are intermittent. However, whilst your forecast and cash-flow may fluctuate your static budget should be based on your planned outputs and inputs. Are you confident that the static budget remains static? Do you have the right rigour in your financial controls? Are you reporting your performance against budget per team / division? Are your teams accountable for budget performance?
Make it a collaborative effort
Collaboration is a powerful tool for all business leaders, regardless of the industry you are in and the type of business you have. It is the connections you form with others, and the different ways you collaborate with those people you formed connections with, that will help grow your business. Collaboration with new people may inspire you, it will also help you grow your network. It can also be educational and ensure that you start to consider new approaches or techniques and in turn can save you money. Consider who you may wish to collaborate with in 2022.
Meet your milestones
In the same way a milestone on the side of a road marks how far you’ve gone, a business milestone tracks your progress as you grow and implement your plan. They are what you use to manage responsibilities, track results and convert your ideas into a functioning business. So how many milestones have you moved in 2021? It’s likely to be several so in 2022 ensure that you set clear milestones that align to your business plan and hold you and your employees to account.
Get in touch
There you have a selection of impactful New Year’s resolutions that will change your business for the better. For more information on how we support business transformation please get in touch: mj@pcwconsultinggroup.com