Can you believe it’s December already? Can you believe 2018 is just a week or two away? When you are running a small business, the year doesn’t just fly by — it rockets away with barely enough time to recognize when a new year is approaching.
One way to prevent 2018 from whooshing out of sight like 2017 did is to prepare a few business-related resolutions for yourself. Unlike business objectives and goals, which might take several years to complete and require the cooperation of entire teams, your resolutions should impact how you lead your business in the coming year.
If you choose the right resolutions, your business is sure to be more than it was last year. Here are 18 resolution ideas to get you motivated for 2018.
- Learn More
You don’t know everything — as much as you might try to make your employees believe you do. This might be the year you finally enroll in an online MBA program in California or pursue some other formal training or certification.
- Be More Transparent
Transparency is the best policy in business. If you are letting your team guess about any aspect of the future, you are letting them down. This year, you should pledge to be an open book in your office.
- Listen More
When you’re in a leadership position, it’s easy to get on your soapbox and talk until your mouth goes dry. However, talking is only half of communication. If you want to know what’s going on in your business, you need to listen — and listen more than you talk.
- Be More Gracious
Your employees don’t have to work for you; they could be working for your competitors. You should appreciate their effort verbally and profusely. In fact, you should try to say, “thank you” at least five times every day.
- Delegate More
It’s hard to let go of responsibilities, especially if you’ve grown your business from a wee startup and know exactly how to do every little task. However, you can’t focus on big-picture decisions if you are performing everyday duties. You should be delegating almost everything to your employees.
- Give More Feedback
Your employees won’t know they’re doing something wrong unless you tell them, and the opposite is true, too. Feedback should occur more than once every year. You should check in with workers every month or so with meaningful comments on their work.
- Seek More Feedback
You benefit from feedback, too. You should request advice and assistance from your team as much as possible, so you recognize what you can be doing better for the business.
- Accept More Risk
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as too little risk. If your business has followed the same operation for years, it is time to make a change. This year, you should strive to be a pioneer in your industry, which means taking on more risk than you might be used to.
- Steal More from Your Competitors
You should be keeping a close eye on your competitors moves. Even if you are outperforming them, there is likely something they are doing better than you. In 2018, you will find it and adapt it for your own benefit.
- Adopt More Diversity
It’s not terribly useful to have a team with identical backgrounds; what you get from that is a whole slew of identical ideas. There is value in different perspectives, and you can only get it from seeking diversity through your hiring practices.
- Be More Organized
Do you often find yourself double-booked? Do you often waste time searching for things? You can manage your time more effectively if you devote some time to organization. Fortunately, there are all sorts of advanced organization tools to make this process incredibly easy.
- Eliminate More Distractions
Almost everything you rely on to conduct business is also a source of distraction. You should try to improve your productivity by killing those items or events that distract you from what’s important. Hide your emails, disable text notifications, and otherwise eliminate what diverts your attention.
- Invest More in Your Employees
Sure, job hopping has become the norm, but you’ll reduce turnover and cultivate a positive workplace culture by trying to keep employees around. The best way to do that is be committed to developing your people with training, experience, and education.
- Get More in Touch with Customers
Are your customers merely numbers in a report? You should strive to get to know a few of your customers personally. Not only will this inspire customer loyalty, but it will give you a direct line to your audience, which you can use to test new ideas or receive company feedback.
- Take More Time Off
You are a business leader, but that’s not all you are. You should explore your identity outside of work with some much-deserved vacation time.
- Acquire More Hobbies
If your mind is always on business, you will suffer the effects of burnout. You need to relax and defocus every once in a while, and that means you need a hobby. You can try painting, kickboxing, or feeding the homeless — anything not associated with your day job.
- Feel More Satisfied
This resolution requires you to identify the conditions for your satisfaction. They might be making X in salary or having X job title — or they might be feeling balanced with work and life or being appreciated by family and employees. This year, you should strive for those conditions.
- Smile More
You probably remember that old study that says smiling incites happiness. It also makes you seem friendly and approachable. You can be serious about your job and smile at the same time.
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