The excitement of a new year!

Turning over a new page. One year ends, and another begins. Isn’t that refreshing? Isn’t that a great feeling of renewal? Throwing out all of those old calendars, and hanging those new ones up on the way. Or, opening up that brand new date book for a symbolic, as well as, literal fresh start, that feels wonderful. There is a whole new year ahead of us, filled with hope and anticipation, that always comes with a new beginning. Man, I love that! I think this is a wonderful time to review what happened in the previous year, and set goals for the new year. As we face 2019, here are some things to think about to make sure that 2019 will be a good, productive, and profitable year.

So, sit back and ponder, think for a few minutes about what you want for yourself and your company during he next twelve months. The future is yours and as a wise man once said, “if you don’t control your future, someone else will do it for you.”

Here are few ideas for making 2019 the best year yet!

• Build on what you have already accomplished. Build on the previous year’s accomplishments. Sure, it’s a new year, but don’t be tempted to throw everything out and start over, as many people do. Some people just like new plans so much that they start over every year with a brand new plan. It is better to be in a productive third year of a plan, than to be perpetually in the first year, every year. A plan is only as good as its’ implementation. Those people who like to have a brand new, start at ground-zero plan, every January, never get anywhere. A good plan is one that is in constant implementation with minor adjustments year to year. Don’t be an attention deficit syndrome manager or you will never get anywhere.
• Use the new year to energize yourself and your team. Get your people excited about what they can accomplish with the passionate rejuvenation that comes with the new year. Use that energy to psyche up your troops. Get them excited about that clean slate of accomplishment numbers, and drive them to face the new year with productive optimism.
• Set goals for the new year. Where do you want to be in six months? How about nine months? How about one year from now? Fix these goals firmly in your mind. Write them down and then develop your tactics, defining the steps you will take to make those goals. Set timed-milestones along the way. Check points where you can stop and evaluate your progress and make adjustments, always remembering that goals are just goals until you take the right steps to achieve them.
• Always be flexible. Things are never going to go the way you want them to. There will always be obstacles along the way, so you have to be prepared to overcome those obstacles whatever they are. Be flexible, be ready to make changes, be prepared to adapt to whatever situation comes your way, and you will succeed in the end. Remember that perseverance is the key to all success and stubborn determination is its’ advocate. And as the saying goes, “expect the best and prepare for the worst”
• Encourage creativity. Welcome new ideas from your team. Not only encourage, but provoke your team to be more creative. The more freedom your team is given to try new things the more effective they will be. Don’t make your proverbial box so rigid that no one is allowed to think out of it. Encourage a questioning atmosphere, as long as the questioning is productive. You are not dealing with robots when it comes to sales, you are dealing with creative, and passionate people, use that to make your people, and your sales team, the best it can be.
• Always be looking for new ways, better ways, to do things. Don’t settle for “the way we have always done it”. Even if that old way has been successful, there is always room for improvement. Because of our fast-changing world what was a good way of doing things twenty- four, or even twelve months ago, might not be the best way to do them today. Always be looking for a better way.
• Be courageous. This is a hard one for many of us who love the warmth and coziness of our comfort zones. Those of us, who would like the world to stop spinning for just a minute, so that we can catch our breath. Remember, that the world has to spin to stay on its axis, and if it stops, we all die, It’s the same with your company. If you stop moving, stop learning, stop creating, and most importantly stop growing, you will die. It might be a slow, and inconspicuous death, but it will be death just the same.

This is the best time of the year. The time to re-invent, and re-create yourself, your team, and your company, so face the new year with all of that cockeyed optimism you can render, and it will be a great one. I promise you. It’s only common sense.