Strategic Planning & People

I've spent some of the last couple days working through my end-of-the-year things, thinking through what worked this year, what didn't work this year, what I need to do next year, and planning out some of my activities month-by-month. I can't lie -- this isn't my favorite activity, but it IS, certainly, one of the most important things that we can do for our careers, personal development, or business development: spending time looking at where you've succeeded, where you can grow, and what you need to do down the road.

One of the things that tends to fall to the side when we spend so much time thinking about ourselves or our businesses, though, is the people part, and that is a huge waste. So I am going to help a little by giving you some thought projects (and they are probably useful across groups...):

Not for Profits: Which volunteers did you not activate? What talents did you not take advantage of that are there waiting to be utilized by your committed helpers?

Mid-size and Large Businesses: Whose voices are being heard the least? What have you been doing to help amplify those voices?

Small Businesses: Who might you have forgotten to thank? Either internally or externally?

You, whoever you are: How often did spend quality time with your family or closest friends?

Self-evaluation for growth, either individually or for businesses and organizations, can be difficult, but don't forget to ask those questions that are tricky and that are about more than just the cogs in the machine.