Here Comes Quarter 3 … Are You Where You Want To Be?

Every year, millions of people create grandiose plans for the year—aka, New Year's Resolutions. These resolutions are simply plans for the year—eat better, work out more, drink less, be a better human, etc. And being the disciplined people that we are... we all stick to those resolutions, right?

If you're laughing now... you're my kind of people.

If not, and you truly don't know the answer to the question, here's some data: Based on an article from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, only 9% of Americans who make resolutions complete them. 23% of them quit by the end of the first week. 43% quit by the end of the first month.

Wow.

Considering that New Year's Resolutions are the personal equivalent of Annual Business Plans/Goals, there surely must be a high correlation between the two.

The answer? I'm not sure.

For every article that says there is a high correlation ("...businesses are made up of people, and businesses perform better because some people are more disciplined than others..."), there is an offsetting article that says they perform worse ("...people treat work like life... and they expect someone else to do the work...").

So we'll stick with my earlier comment—who knows?

But here's what I do know—business plans need to be achieved. The reason is simple: your primary role as a leader is to ensure that all the people and families in your organization receive a regular paycheck to provide for their families. Period. Yes, there are owners/stakeholders that demand results, market share growth opportunities, customer commitments, and more... but none of those things can happen if you can't ensure your people are taking care of their people.

Little Johnny needs braces.

Little Sally needs glasses.

Mr. and Mrs. Employee just bought a home they've been saving for.

These are the things that drive your people to meet Business Goals... plain and simple.

Let that sink in and remember this when you are building plans.

Now, let's shift gears. The end of the second quarter is coming up, and this is the time to review how you are doing against the plans you laid out in January. In my career, I've followed a simple path—with my team—that allowed us to see how we were doing, where we were winning, where we were struggling, and how to course correct for the balance of the year. The name of it? Mid-Year Reviews.

Rudimentary and simple? Yes.

Effective? Extremely.

Here we go:

Review your 2023 plan milestones

• This is key to avoid getting lost in the weeds. What, specifically, did you want to accomplish by June 30th? Don't focus on the inputs yet, merely the output. Example: maybe you planned to have 30 new customers, as an organization, generating an additional $3 million in annual gross profit dollars. Do you have 30? Are they generating $100,000 in profit dollars? Odds are you're somewhere in the middle.

What strategy is working:

• The goal is 30 new customers delivering $100,000 in profit—each. For the ones that are on track... what worked? How did you get them there? What did the team do here? Account reviews with the customer? Market analysis? Needs analysis? A simple cold call? Whatever it was... understand it and make an example of it—companywide. Make sure that the actions that worked are being duplicated across the enterprise.

What strategy is not working?

• This is critical—what actions are being taken and not working? Look at them closely and identify if they are not working for one of the following reasons:

1. Effort: Is the organization putting in the effort to make this happen? Or are they going through the motions? If it's the former, keep it going. If the latter, your team isn't bought in. You, personally, have more work to do here. Get after it.
2. Effectiveness: Simply put—is the strategy good? If the team is bought in, and the plan is to make 3 lefts rather than 1 right, is it effective? I think not. Pay close attention here... after 6 months, your people will know what works and what they need to do differently. Trust them and let them do it (if it makes sense) ... and then get the hell out of their way.
3. Execution: Good plan. Good buy-in. Poor execution. Sound familiar? Think of a football team replacing their star quarterback with a backup. They are both the best of the best (after all, they're in the NFL), but one scores touchdowns, and one makes the punter look like a hero. Make sure the person in charge of execution, if it's not you, keeps the punter on the bench.

How is your team performing?

• Remember... it's all about the team. They are the ones on the ground making it happen, and you need to make sure they're aligned and focused. In addition, make sure they're not burned out. Here's a quick litmus test—are they having fun? If you're winning and breaking records, they may be having fun—but they may not be. Burnout is real and not a good thing. In the heat of the season, you want your people fresh. Make sure they're taking vacation time, properly staffed, and celebrating wins. Conversely, if you're not meeting goals, make sure they're not dejected and zombies. No one likes to lose—period. Make sure they see the potential light at the end of the tunnel... and lead them. Inspire them. Spend time with them. It is one of the best investments you can make.

Adjust your sails, if needed.

• You've assessed your performance. You've reviewed what works and what doesn't. You've motivated your team. Now... the hard work begins. What is your company spending time on that is not generating a return? Meaning—what are you doing that is wasted energy? If the goal is to add 30 net new customers that deliver $100,000 in year 1 profit dollars, why are you still prioritizing a stale customer that only delivers a maximum of $20,000 annually? Most likely because they're a friend. As a leader, you must determine which way the wind is blowing and adjust your course as such. Typically, my protocol was this: stop the stupid strategies (and I had a lot of them), empower the team to change the non-working strategies as needed, and build in some fun—either a mid-year company event, sales meeting, ballgame... you get the drift. Building team cohesiveness is critical... and this time of year is the best time to do so.

Double down and execute.

• Now that you've adjusted your sails, put all your chips on your team. Spend time with them in the field—don't get stuck behind your desk... especially if your title has a "C" at the beginning of it. A partner of mine once said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care"... and truer words have never been said. If the organizational goals are so important... show it. Spend time in the field. Spend time in the branches. Own a piece of the execution. Spend time with your people. Lead.

Revisit in 90 days.

• Now that you're in the second half of the year, cut the assessment time in half. At the end of the third quarter, do this again. You've already got metrics to look at the business daily/weekly, so you should not be surprised. (If you don't have metrics... read my earlier article about Scoreboards.) Mark the date now so everyone knows the next review date. And do it.

There it is... again—not rocket science, but not easy. It takes strong leadership to look at your business and make it better—especially when it's doing well. I'm not saying to radically change things if you're performing, but a gentle guiding hand to go faster never hurts.

And if you're not performing... you've got the roadmap.

Remember—the families of your teams are relying on you... you can't let them down.