{"id":15469,"date":"2015-07-29T15:46:05","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T19:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=15469"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:28:19","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T22:28:19","slug":"making-2015-a-success-5-tips-for-a-mid-year-turnaround","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/making-2015-a-success-5-tips-for-a-mid-year-turnaround","title":{"rendered":"Making 2015 a success: Five tips for a mid-year turnaround"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know the tradition of New Year\u2019s resolutions. They\u2019re life-affirming in theory, but most of these vows are made too early in the year, are not sustainable, and get broken almost immediately.<\/p>\n

Those of us in business are hopefully a bit more practical, and want to get a sense of how the year is unfolding before we commit to changing course. January, and even February, are often too early in the cycle, and November and December are way too late.<\/p>\n

Think about a football coach headed off with his team to the locker room at half time. July is the midway point of the game, the perfect time to catch our breath. It\u2019s our opportunity to go back to the white board, review the game plan, analyze the obstacles being thrown in our way, and figure out how to adjust so we can optimize our performance.<\/p>\n

Rather than beating yourself up for not hitting your targets, or conversely engaging in self-congratulations for killing it, the best way to recalibrate is to ask yourself revealing questions about your team and yourself. While going on summer vacation is necessary and can clear your head, if you really want to hit refresh, you need to do a gut check and get real on points like these:<\/p>\n

1. Are you and your team as productive as possible? <\/strong>After forming an allergic reaction to Oracle time sheets early in my career, the last thing I wanted to do was track my time as an entrepreneur. But after some encouragement by a trusted business mentor, I signed up for Harvest<\/a>, an easy-to-use online time management platform. Now I know whether my team is getting as much done as possible.<\/p>\n

The results:<\/strong> You\u2019ll feel liberated by being more in control and more efficient.<\/p>\n

2. Have you looked over the books lately?<\/strong> If not, it\u2019s time to meet with your accountant or bookkeeper. It\u2019s like getting an exam from a physician. If you\u2019re trying to grow revenue at your company, you need to open the books to an outside pair of eyes. If you wait for tax season, you\u2019ll often miss the bigger picture.<\/p>\n

The results:<\/strong> You\u2019ll see fat that needs to be trimmed, as well as new revenue streams that need to be tapped.<\/p>\n

3. Have you reviewed the performance of your workers?<\/strong> A year-end review and bonus is fine and dandy, but a pat on the back for accomplishments they\u2019ve made along the way, with a heads-up about areas where they could improve, is the kind of feedback that members of your team are hungry for. Plus, you\u2019ll see the gaps, knowing when to bring new people onboard, and when to say goodbye to others who aren\u2019t performing.<\/p>\n

The results:<\/strong> Your staffers will welcome the praise, as well as the criticism. They\u2019ll probably show you that they\u2019re more aware of their strong and weak points than you realized.<\/p>\n

4. Have you reached out to people who could send you business?<\/strong> It could be current or future customers, but it might also be longtime vendors, close friends and family members, or former colleagues and clients that recommend your company. It\u2019s time to give them a call. And don\u2019t forget to ask how you can help them out\u2014a mistake made by all too many self-involved business owners.<\/p>\n

The results:<\/strong> You\u2019ll share real business intelligence and might even pick up some more referrals.<\/p>\n

5. Are you making time for yourself?<\/strong> Make sure you\u2019re seeking out purely pleasurable activities that have zero connection to work. During the middle of last week, I jumped into a lake on a hot and humid day, indulged in a relaxing yoga class, took a six-mile walk with my wife, and spent some time in a batting cage with my teenage son. Make a list of activities that you enjoy outside of work, and check them off one by one. For some, it\u2019s a deep-tissue massage. For others, it\u2019s reading a trashy novel or finally taking that ceramics class.<\/p>\n

The results:<\/strong> You\u2019ll realize that you can carve out time just for you.<\/p>\n

This is the time of year when we can free ourselves from those clich\u00e9d year-end resolutions, like losing weight or getting to the gym. As Albert Ellis, founder of behavioral therapy, said in his classic How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything<\/em><\/a>, you can finally stop \u201cshoulding on yourself\u201d and take time out to maximize your life at work and at play.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Lauren Kallen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know the tradition of New Year\u2019s resolutions. They\u2019re life-affirming in theory, but most of these vows are made too early in the year, are not sustainable, and get broken almost immediately. Those of us in business are hopefully a bit more practical, and want to get a sense of how the year is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1360,"featured_media":15471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaking 2015 a success: Five tips for a mid-year turnaround<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Right now is an opportunity to go back to the white board, review the game plan, and analyze the obstacles being thrown in the way of your business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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