Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions Every Business Leader Should Make

Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions Every Business Leader Should Make

There’s really only one New Year’s Resolution that every business should have, and that’s to sell more products and services, to more customers, at higher prices, and lower costs, with fully engaged employees

 
Because that’s the secret to building a profitable and growing company.  However, that’s a bit of a mouthful and it’s hard to know where to start, so here are 10 resolutions that will put you on the path to success when you tackle them one at a time.
 
#1  Show (most) customers the love:  Two thirds of the customers who leave do2 so because they think their vendor doesn’t care.  The best way to show them that you care is to listen to them, and to do what you do best to solve the real problems that they’re wrestling with.  Some of your customers – the ones who are costing you more than they’re worth – might need a bit of tough love so that you can continue to serve them well, and that’s OK to give them that tough love instead of firing them.
 
#2  Ensure top line growth is helping, not hindering:  Ever had a great year on the top line with not much to show for it on the bottom line?  40% of companies who increase revenues actually decrease their profits.  Chase good revenues, not revenue at any cost, and know when to say “no thanks”.
 
#3  Plug every profit leak to drive bottom line growth:  Gross margin is a wonderful thing, except that the profit that leaks out below that line either makes or breaks your business.    Identifying the costs that shouldn’t even be there such as unnecessary costs to serve is the best way to plug leaks without conventional cost-cutting.
 
#4  Always deliver a quality product AND a quality experience:  When you think of the vendors you dread calling with a problem, its usually not the quality of the product that’s the really issue.  Occasional glitches can usually be fixed.  Its more likely that a horrendous experience leaves you feeling bruised and battered, like a salmon swimming upstream.  Make sure that your customers experience smooth sailing instead.
 
#5  Innovate in ways that adds value to our customers and is tough for our competitors to copy:  Value add innovation is easy.  Simply save your customers time, save or make them money, solve a real problem, give them peace of mind, or leave them feeling good about doing business with you.  Peace of mind and feeling good are tough for any competitor to copy, once you own that space in your customers’ minds.
 
#6 Improve productivity:  It’s not about working harder.  The trifecta of productivity is efficiency, effectiveness, and caring enough to get it right the first time.  How are all three of those working for you?
 
#7 Execute every plan with excellence:  Every single person in your organization simply needs to know three things:  where are we going?  How will we get there?  How do I fit and contribute?  If they can’t answer the first two questions because your strategic plan is sitting in a binder on a shelf, then they can’t help execute for impact.
 
#8 Increase employee engagement and retention: oddly enough, when you answer the three questions in Resolution #7, you will automatically improve engagement and retention.  When employees know how they contribute and are confident that they’re making a difference, they want to stay and succeed.
 
#9 Find and develop great talent:  The easiest way to achieve this is to reverse the order.  First, develop existing talent, as a great motivator and form of recognition.  Your reputation for investing in your team will attract the new talent you’ll need.
 
#10  Build a flexible organization that can quickly adapt to market changes:  Agility is a rare competitive advantage, and simply means knowing your destination, and having more than one way to get there.
 
I hope this has sparked some AHA! Moments along with the resolution to take action in these areas.  Each month in 2014, we’ll unpack one of these in more detail, and give you some practical solutions in plain sight to accelerate your results and help you at every step of the way.  Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2014.  Let’s all go and make good things happen.