So often, companies get caught up in the pre-Christmas frenzy of deadlines and don’t get a chance to think about celebrating this year’s successes and challenges.
By the end of the year, the workforce are often running on fumes, looking forward to the Festive break as a chance to recharge their batteries (as much as you can with family over Christmas), so recognising and commending their accomplishments will really see the year off on a high. Make sure you’re specific in those celebrations – ‘Good work, everyone’ is far too generic to make anyone feel valued.
It’s also critical to reflect on lessons learned. Not every idea or initiative is a winner, so you should take some time to look at what hasn’t worked and think about how you can make improvements in the future. I’m not saying you should dwell on things negative, but they share equal weight with the positives – a key part of your business growth is recognising when something isn’t working in and adapting it or letting it go.
For my part, one of the biggest challenges I faced in 2021 was not focusing on my niche soon enough. I wanted to be all things to all people, but soon found that by identifying the areas I could serve most efficiently I was able to crystallise my offerings and work more effectively with my clients. Put it another way, if you saw a restaurant menu with 20 items from 6 different cuisines, you’d worry that the kitchen was spreading itself too thin. It’s far better to have 4 or 5 dishes executed flawlessly, than to overpromise and underdeliver.
As for successes
I’m delighted that collectively the clients I’ve worked with this year have doubled their turnover (& now allocate protected space in their diary for their personal growth/time with family).
All of them have built new foundations for growth and seen an increase in the development of their business as a result. I’m grateful for their dedication to go on their own transformational journeys, as have I building Amplified this year. Starting a company just as the world collapsed in the face of a global pandemic was a more challenging beginning than we’d bargained for! We’ve adapted our strategies, pivoting when we’ve needed to, and I can’t describe how rewarding it is to see all our clients doing so well.
December can be a crazy time – the end of the year always seems to take us by surprise! – but I can’t stress enough how gratifying you’ll find it to spend time with your team looking back on the year (even if online) and celebrate team achievements (big and small).
Wishing you all the best for a peaceful festive holiday.
