Call it seeing the forest through the trees. Sometimes, we are so focused on planting each sapling, watering it and caring for it, that we can’t see that some day, we will be looking at our very own forest.

Lots of things in life are like this. We are so busy getting through X – doing the homework, seeking out the new clients, changing diapers and wiping faces – that we can’t see the long-term goal.

Every now and then, it helps to stop, step back and look at the big picture. Whether it’s finishing a degree, building a new business or raising a family, the tedium of the day-to-day tasks often overshadows the reward of all the hard work.

The pay-off is there. Here are a few ideas for envisioning it:

1. Tick off your accomplishments. Maybe it’s a benchmark for quarterly profits, or making the dean’s list. Knowing how much you’ve already done will keep you moving forward.
2. Don’t get discouraged. There will always be setbacks, unforeseen consequences, and apparent roadblocks as you make your way. Push through them and you will be all the wiser for it.
3. Keep planning. The little successes keep you going, but you need to know what you want to tackle next. It’s great that you got five new clients this month, but what are you doing next month?
4. Be patient. Especially if your project is long-term, you will need to stay focused on what you’ve done today, rather than on the multitude of things you have yet to even begin.
5. Think about the end result. Close your eyes and imagine where you will be a few years from now. Dream of the payoff – the bigger business, the degree that allows you to command a better job, the happy and independent child.

That’s your forest. You just couldn’t see it at the time.

Labels: accomplishment, goals, planning

We’re all looking ahead right now, trying to see past the tinsel and cheerful chaos of the holidays to that calmer time in January when we can breathe again. So as long as our eyes are focused forward, it doesn’t hurt to look past the next few weeks and plan for the coming year.

Just as seed catalogues will come in the mail for gardeners plotting how they will till the soil, business representatives should get out their graph paper, take a look out the window, and decide where they want to put their dahlias – so to speak.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Develop a strategic vision. Decide what’s worked and what hasn’t in the past year, as a gardener would, and go from there. Learning from your mistakes can help you move forward and come up with where you want to see your business a year from now. Which brings us to…
2. Setting objectives. Do you want to increase sales? Do more outreach to new clients? Streamline your operating procedures? It’s decision time. You can’t come up with a plan until you decide what the goal is going to be. Then you can…
3. Come up with a strategy to achieve your objectives. This is the “strategic” part of the strategic plan. Offer incentives to your sales team to bring in more business, or increase your marketing in new territories for a fresh batch of clients – whatever it takes to get where you’re going. Now it’s time to…
4. Implement your strategy. Set a timeline or benchmarks, get with your employees and let them in on the plan so everyone’s headed in the same direction, and go from there. The last thing you’ll need to do is…
5. Evaluate how the plan is going and make adjustments as needed. Maybe you evaluate every month or every quarter, but take a look-see to make sure things are on track. Don’t be afraid to tweak things that aren’t working as planned. Even gardeners pull weeds regularly and divide the hostas.

Labels: organizating, planning, proceedure, strategy vision

There’s a reason the symbol for the New Year is a baby, of course. Babies are so full of hope and promise, untainted by the course of life, just like the upcoming stretch of 365 days. But before you close the door on 2009, it doesn’t hurt to take a moment of reflection and think about where you’ve been in business and in life, and where you’re going.

With a reminder to focus on the positive and shed the negative, here are a few tips to get you started:

*First of all, assess where you are. Is your company chugging along? Is your life – your relationships, your hobbies, the things that ground you – doing the same? Be ready to let go of this year and move on to the challenges of the next.

*Next, look back at the past year and consider what you’ve accomplished. Have you set and met your goals? Handled the unexpected, whether at work or at home, with grace and ease? Done more than the minimum to see things through? Do a little victory dance for all that you’ve achieved.

*Now it’s time to look ahead to the coming year. Where do you want to take that big family vacation? Where do you want your company to be a year from now? What are your hopes and dreams for 2010, and how do you want to get there? Start plotting out time lines and benchmarks, and tick off your progress as the weeks and months pass along.

*Finally, show appreciation to others. Whether it’s your supervisor or your neighbor, your supplier or your spouse, thank them for all they have done this year and all you hope they will do in the next. What comes around, goes around, so spreading a little kindness never hurt.

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, celebrate what you’ve done this year and hope to do next year.

Labels: accomplishment, setting goals

If you don’t already have enough family and friends to get holiday gifts for, and if your budget isn’t already tight enough this year, there’s the added pressure of that whole work thing.

Should you get a gift for your supervisor? What about your clients? Your co-workers? Your employees? How much should you spend, when should you send it… and on and on. Suddenly, Scrooge and the Grinch seem to have the right idea.

But alas, they turned out to have big hearts in the end, and you do, too. To weed through often conflicting advice and the uncertainty of overstepping personal boundaries, here are a few ideas:

1. The joy in gift giving should be just that. Don’t expect something in return. Just feel good knowing you let someone else know how much you appreciate all the work they do.
2. Because of the incredible mass of stuff people receive over the holidays, consider sending your gift early in the season, or just after New Years, so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
3. Be culturally sensitive. Not everybody celebrates the same holidays, and several cultures have holidays this time of year. A “Warmest Wishes,” “Peace on Earth,” or “Seasons Greetings” card may work best if you don’t want to offend. Likewise, gifts of food or liquor should be carefully vetted so as not to turn of someone with religious or health dietary restrictions.
4. If money’s tight, keep it simple. A card with a personal message will go further than another coffee mug with the company logo in a new color. And a too-expensive gift may embarrass a boss or fellow employee.
5. Speaking of embarrassing, skip the overly personal gift. Perfume, lingerie, jewelry, underwear with silly or crude sayings – thanks, but no thanks. A modest gift card is just fine.

So go ahead. Make the list. Sure, we’ve all been a little naughty, but mostly, we’ve been pretty nice. And isn’t that worth at least a card?

Labels: gift giving, holiday gift giving, office gift giving