(877) 4-B2B CFO

Want a Career?

Find a CFO

219 partners in 45 states
     6,527 years experience

Find a CFO by zip code

Find a CFO by name

Free Business Resource

Fill out the form and receive for FREE The Discovery Analysis (a $1600 value)





Privacy policy

Don't Let The Lessons Of 2009 Be Wasted

Jan 17, 2010


Many of us are elated to see New Year’s Day 2010 appear.  The economy was dreadful, too many people lost their jobs, medical costs skyrocketed and local government spending and services suffered.   Many business’ results reflected the difficult economy and those business owners would rather forget the difficult periods and concentrate on 2010. 
But before you throw last year’s calendar into the archive, take time to study the activity you so diligently documented.  Look at the successes of 2009.  What activities did you do that created that success?  Was it your preparation for the meeting?  Was it the research you did that showed you to be the knowledgeable expert in your field that you are?  Perhaps you received a large order or successfully closed the deal with a new, substantive client.  Whatever it was, document the behaviors you feel made you successful.  Use the feedback from the people involved in the success to assess the factors that lead to it being a great day.  Keep track of those activities, even if they were not your own.  Are those activities things that come natural to you, or would you like to hone those skills?  If so, think seriously about getting training or acquiring resources to have that arrow in your quiver.

The more uncomfortable process, but the one that yields the most value, is to single out the times where things did not go your way.  Did you have a difficult time with a presentation?  Did a meeting not go your way?  Did a customer or your boss chew you out?  Did you lose a valued customer?  The cause does not matter; the cure does. 

Think seriously about what you did to cause this result.  As I said earlier, it is uncomfortable to look in the mirror when you are not on your game.  Understanding why this happened increases your success rate going forward.  Did you underestimate the task at hand?  Did you not prepare adequately?  Did you hesitate when you should have stepped up?  Analyzing each situation as to what happened and how you could have turned that into a success is the first step to make sure history repeats itself less.  I say that because you are never going to be perfect, but turning a mistake into a success will set you apart as the person people want to do business with.

Once you have identified what you need to work on and avoid, keep a list handy.  Prepare for each day by reminding yourself of what you need to work on, as well as what you do well, until it is second nature, and celebrate your successes in 2010.

More from John…

About the Author

Books


A collection of books from B2B CFO® to help any business succeed. Read the first chapter from books, including the Wall Street Journal’s book, for free.

Zoom in using the +/- tools on the left. Click on each photo for more details.