Champions New Year Resolution

With each new year, we create new goals and objectives known as New Year’s Resolutions. Sometimes these goals and objectives are well thought out and realistic, but sometimes… well… let’s just say that they are “well intentioned.”

As a champion, setting goals and objectives for your department may parallel typical New Year’s resolutions. I was drawing the comparisons in my mind the other day, and I thought I should take a moment to write about the topic. This isn’t about setting your department goals; this is about avoiding the landmines you could encounter while working towards achieving those goals and objectives – the same landmines you face with your resolutions!

A recent special on ABC’s Good Morning America featured the top five reasons for failing resolutions:

1. Unrealistic goals – goals may be difficult, but they need to be achievable
2. Expects something magical to happen – nothing is going to happen overnight or without effort
3. Surrounded by temptation – there will always be something more interesting or more urgent to work on – delegate where it’s appropriate and prioritize where you have to
4. Too many resolutions – setting too many goals at once makes it difficult to focus
5. Going in blind – have a plan and understand what your obstacles will be and how to work around them

As a former champion, I have experienced many reasons why plans and best intentions go awry. However, here are some tips for better success:

• Slow and steady wins the race – most often, you don’t need to sprint in order to achieve the goals you set out to achieve – be persistent and consistent
• “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” – Bruce Lee – prioritize the essentials so that you can focus on the plan
• Elimination of paralysis through analysis - too much thinking, not enough doing. Just like the reports you build in Supply Chain Analytics, your plan has to be actionable. A lofty goal with no action is a wasted effort.
• Know your what, but not your why – while it is important to set realistic goals, you should also understand why you are where you are and how you got there. Correct the negative issues that may have steered you in the wrong direction and you’ll find yourself on the right course.
• Track your progress – If you know where you are, but you don’t know where you came from … how do you know if you’ve gotten anywhere? This is one of the most important pieces. Tracking your progress will let you know when you’ve done well, and where you still have to go.

Keep these points in mind when developing your team’s goals and objectives and you’ll be one step closer to success! As always, if you need help staying on track, defining your goals, or improving your supply chain planning reach out and we’ll be happy to help.