2007 has been an incredible year. It was the year of M&A; the year of THE data breach (TJX); the year First Data was changed forever; the year PayPal became your competitor; the year the housing market tanked; the year of the direct sales model; the year your organization conquered new heights; or the year you blew out your sales quota.
For everyone, 2007 was significant for numerous reasons. Instead of analyzing each of these or debate the relevance of one over the other I think we can find one common theme. It is the identical theme we see every year. That theme is “things change.” You can’t control change so you better deal with it. So as 2007 comes to a close it is far better to analyze, re-align and prepare than to reminisce. What were the major events of 2007? How do you see them impacting 2008 and beyond? Where is the market going? Where is your organization going? Where are you going? Don’t spend too much time looking back at 2007. Instead, evaluate your company’s position in the market or even your position within your organization. Look ahead at 2008 as the opening of a new chapter.
If you are the CEO or President of a company, now is the time to re- align your strategy with the changes in the market or your organization. A strategy should not be stagnant and must evolve over time. You can re-examine your internal processes to create greater efficiencies or even realign your management team.
As 2007 comes to an end you have an opportunity to point your company in the right direction where you have the greatest opportunity for long-term success.
If you are an employee, now is the time to evaluate your wants, needs and desires. It is time to evaluate and take control of your career path as only you can do. Ask yourself how you can perform better in your current role or how you can position yourself for the next promotion. Maybe it is time to think about moving to a new organization that can challenge you in other ways and fulfill your needs to a greater level. Similar to an organization re-aligning in the correct manner, you have the opportunity to evaluate and then re- align yourself.
Lastly, if you’re a sales professional, the end of the year gives you the opportunity to evaluate your numbers from 2007. Sales is a great discipline as success and failure are easily measured. As the year ends you can set your bar higher for the next year and push yourself. You can examine how you spent your time and develop methodologies to work smarter. You can evaluate your hundreds of objections and “no’s” from 2007 and develop new skills at overcoming obstacles and closing tactics. Sales professionals have the opportunity to prepare themselves for the battles in the streets and the big wins for the year ahead.
As many people spend this time reminiscing about the year gone by I believe it better to re-align and focus on OPENING A NEW CHAPTER in
the year ahead. Change is a constant and we can not affect the
past. Events of 2007 will no doubt affect the future so take that into account, but spend this time of year re-aligning your forces, rethinking your strategies and preparing to win in 2008.
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