Gearing Up for a Successful and Prosperous Year
Lucy Dunn, President and CEO of the Orange County Business Council kicked off the New Year with a compelling keynote highlighting the many attractions/benefits of life and business here in Orange County. The information she shared was punctuated with a call to action for the business community to get involved to improve the business climate in California. Click here for more information.
As we begin 2012, it is a good idea to review a business growth checklist to make sure that your business is poised for success:
Do you have a clear mission statement, strategic plan, and specific and measurable goals for 2012? If your mission and strategic plan have not been revisited in the last 18 months, it is a very good idea to do so. Goals, both long and short term, should be made on an annual basis and should be in writing. Written plans have a greater likelihood of success than those which are not.
- Do you need to alter/hone your course/market/niche to achieve success?
- Are your decisions in alignment with your strategic plan and goals?
- Time is a precious and limited commodity. Are you spending your time in activities related to achieving your clearly defined and measurable goals?
- As your business has grown, have you delegated responsibilities to free you up for a more executive type focus?
- Have you developed processes and procedures so that all business knowledge is not just housed with you and can be quickly transferred to team members?
- Do your employees have job descriptions and know how they will be evaluated so that they and you can achieve success?
- Have you thought about succession planning?
Do you have trusted advisors that can serve as sounding boards for your vision, challenges and new opportunities? NAWBO-OC offers a mentoring program and SUCCESS Teams that provide these services at a very affordable rate.
This may seem like a very long list of things to consider in your already very busy life. However, taking the time to set your specific and measurable goals for 2012 and consider the above is critical to achieving success. To not do so sets you adrift without direction. You need to know where you are going in order to get there.
Lucy Dunn enthusiastically embraced our theme for the year, “Community, Connections, Competitive Edge” and praised NAWBO has being an integral part of creating business growth. I couldn’t agree more. I look forward to seeing you at our Remarkable Women Reunion on January 24th and at the February 7th dinner meeting. Click here for more information on these events and a complete calendar of NAWBO-OC offerings.
My New Year’s wish for each of you is that 2012 exceeds all your clearly stated, written and measurable goals!
Maureen Rhyne, Ph.D.
2011-2012 NAWBO-OC President
President, Heritage Associates, Inc.
- Lucy Dunn