Closing the Door to Last Year...What will you do differently in 2018?

Let's Face it - working in Procurement is not the easiest of government roles - with a never ending workload, daily decisions, crisis, drama, and creative problem solving. After 20+ years at the City of San Diego, I admit that being a Purchasing Agent was the toughest job that I ever had. But it was never boring, and I worked with some great people and was always learning something new. Looking back however, I definitely would have done some things differently.

The expression that "hindsight is always 20/20" is true for most of us. You aren't necessarily at the end of your career, but in looking back over the past year, what do you want to do differently in the upcoming year? Do you want to create a more balanced work day -with time for lunch away from the desk and possibly gaining a mentor? Do you want to update your work process to automate your workload or even eliminate some of the more tedious steps? Do you want to work better with your customers to get ahead of their needs, and have them sing your praises rather than complain about procurement? Do you want to work better as a team, and incorporate more fun activities into your year?

During your next team meeting, why not "close out" 2017 by having each person answer these following questions:

1.           What am I most proud of?

2.           What was our most challenging moments or projects?

3.           Did our team grow? Did we have any fun? Was it enough?

4.           What advice would I offer based on a lesson learned?

5.          What am I going to do to make 2018 better?

Then the next step is to set your own personal goals or resolutions, along with team goals for 2018. In fact, create a "motto" for the year...and hang that banner for all to see! Everyone likes a "fresh beginning" and now is the time to refocus and strategize. Only you can write your "story" for 2018...what's it going to be?