Business leaders in all organizations are urged to spend the next few days (or weeks) sifting through reams of business and financial results, trying to figure out how to make make 2011 even better.
Take the time NOW to ask the tough questions:
About You
• What significant contribution did you make to your organization in the past six months?
• What new skills did you learn in the last six months?
• How many new business contacts did you make in the past six months?
• What feedback have you received about your leadership skills?
• What did you do to improve your mental and physical health so far this year?
• What will you do differently in 2011?
About Your Team
• How many times did you give feedback to each of your employees? Weekly?
• How would you rate the performance (results) for each of your employees so far this year?
• Have you shared those ratings with them?
• Which employees are over-delivering and may need additional challenges?
• Which employees are having trouble and need help (or to be re-assigned)?
• What will your team do differently for 2011?
About Your Customers
• How many customers did you visit with in the past six months?
• What are your customers saying about your product/service (and what are you doing about it)?
• Where are you gaining and/or losing market share?
• What kind of pricing changes have you made?
• What impact does this have on your second half marketing plan?
About Your Business
• What are the key trends for your business (e.g., gross margin, operating margin, etc.)?
• What went well in the past six months, and what did you learn from the success?
• What went poorly in the past six months, and what did you learn from the failure?
• What are the key opportunities and problems you must fix in the coming three months?
• What are the key questions you need to answer in the next three months?
• What impact does this have on your 2011 business plan?
For more business tips, click here.