Business Resolutions

It’s not too late to make New Year’s resolutions for your business, and these are ones that you can actually stick to.

By the time that you read this, the likelihood is that if you’re one of the millions of people to have made resolutions on the first of January 2018, you’ll also be one of the fractionally smaller number of millions to have already let those resolutions slide. The problem with personal resolutions is that they generally involve giving up something like you like doing, or doing something that you’d rather avoid. While this is all very laudable, it’s not the perfect formula for success. It’s not, however, too late to make a few resolutions that you can keep, and can help to make your business more successful.

4 Resolutions for a Better Business

1. Audit Your Goals. In business it’s easy to get bogged down in the short-term; looking for the next big promotion; meeting financial targets; bagging that next big customer. The only way to secure long-term success however, is to keep one eye focussed on the future. The goals of every business change, so taking time to sit down and reassess your current aims, desired destination, and how you plan to get there is important. Now is the time to clear your path and make sure that you’re not too distracted by diversions.
2. Give Up. While positivity is admirable, there are some situations where the brave thing to do is admit defeat and go back to the drawing board. This can apply to products, processes and services. If something really isn’t working don’t waste time and money trying to find ways to fix it. Drop it and move on. That way both sanity and success lie.
3. Cut Waste. Landfill tax costs British businesses in excess of £1 billion every year. At £84.40 per tonne, the way that you dispose of your company’s rubbish could significantly impact on your bottom line, so cutting waste makes sense even before you think about the environmental impact. There are various ways to do this, from implementing a paperless office to replacing your water coolers with drinking fountains and sports bottle refill stations – ditching plastic cups in favour of reusable alternatives. Which ever options you go for, you’ll be saving yourself cash while helping to tackle the growing problem of global waste.
4. Know Your Team. Kenny Nguyen, founder and CEO of creative agency Big Fish Presentations, stated that his resolution this year is to never eat alone, instead spending his lunch breaks with different members of his team. This makes a huge amount of sense. You might be steering your ship, but you won’t get anywhere without your team, so forget about viewing them as assets – an all too common trap – and start to get to know the individuals. That way you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the wealth of hidden skills at your fingertips, have a chance to find out what makes them tick, and potentially open the door to beneficial ideas and suggestions.

New Year resolutions can feel like a pointless exercise, but that’s because they so very often amount to nothing. In business, that’s not an option. New Year’s Eve may seem like a distant memory, but it’s not too late to make 2018 work for