Set realistic goals for yourself, your company and your workforce and you can make a major difference to profits and efficiency.
I HAVE never been a big fan of New Year's resolutions, at least not those such as 'Learn Italian this year' or 'Improve my backhand'. They seem fuzzy.
They're also subjective. Who's to say when I have adequately 'learned' Italian? They're hard to evaluate. How good does my backhand have to get? And, quite often, they turn out to be impractical or unachievable. In pursuing these goals, I may learn that I have no affinity for Italian or that my backhand is beyond improvement. In order to succeed at the resolution game, I've learned, your goals have to be: very specific; easy to evaluate by objective standards; and realistic.
For example, one year I resolved to spend more time at my Florida residence and less time travelling. That's not exactly a unique goal. What well-travelled executive hasn't, at one time or another, vowed to 'spend more time at home'? But it also failed to meet the above criteria.
So I refined the goal. I aimed to spend at least 100 days at home in Florida. It was a specific number that would be easy to evaluate as long as I kept track. And best of all, it was realistic (more than 100 days simply wouldn't conform to my travel schedule). In other words, it was achievable. I would end the year with a personal success rather than a failure.
I try to apply the same standards to my business goals. This year, I'm keeping my corporate goals small, with a continuing focus on making our organisation more cost-efficient and more responsive to our customers and to sudden changes in our industry. These are worthy goals for any CEO or manager. However, to achieve them, I know I have to be more specific - to attach real numbers to the goals. Here are 10 specific resolutions I intend to keep in 1995: 1. Speed up collectibles. Every month, examine five ongoing business relationships to see if your customers are paying you promptly and according to the terms of your agreements. You'd be surprised how many of your customers have no idea what the contracts say or, worse, are waiting for a reminder to pay up.
2. Retrieve lost customers. In the next 12 months, make a point of personally calling on 10 old customers who have stopped doing business with you. Find out why they stopped, apologise if necessary, and don't leave their office until they agree to give you a second chance.