Starting in 2017, I decided New Year’s was not only a great tradition to set for the company to celebrate the holiday season but a way to reflect on met goals and setting new ones as a team.  By looking at the year before as a collective, everyone’s contributions as a team are recognized; furthering a sentiment of cohesion and teamwork. Having our holiday party thereafter became a great way to bond and renew hope for New Year goals.

We continued this tradition in 2018 and it proved to be incredibly effective with major goals. I think a few different elements play into why this works. The first being accountability. I don’t know how many macro level goals I’ve set for the company but because they remained in my head, they never came to fruition. It is very easy to get side tracked with day-to-day operational tasks that you can lose sight of the bigger picture. Because of this, you are not spending any time on strategy and implementation. For an example, are you looking to expand services? What services are you looking to add? How are you going to add it? What is the cost benefit and how much more resources will it take to implement it?  A company should not only just function, but flourish.

Secondly, by sharing company goals with employees, you are essentially proclaiming your growth. In doing this by faith, and in works, not only do you build trust between staff and management but you’re also demonstrating the importance of follow through. Ideally, your staff should reflect your work ethic. By sharing larger goals, your team is affirmed in the necessity of drive and accountability. Essentially if you assign a project to an employee, you are expecting them to take the helm and not only orchestrate but also produce quality work in a timely fashion. But, can you do this? Leading by example is far easier than by commands.

Lastly, having a deadline matters. Even if you spend the second half of the year scurrying to meet your goals, this is better than having put in no effort come the following year. Small steps are still movement! There’s a personal goal I’ve had for this business for almost four years and it wasn’t until last year that I even started to set it in motion. Now that I have the tools, I feel more motivated to complete the goal.

To make our goal setting meetings thorough, I use the three “R’s”.  We reflect on the previous year’s goals and accomplishments (“In Review”), the New Year goals (“Resolutions”) , and then concluding with any exciting benchmarks that reflect on significant growth and/or sentimental value (In “Retrospect”).  Here is how I formatted the three R’s with some examples of bullet points:

In Review:  2017’s Resolutions

1. Double our numbers from last year. (Did a recap of how we met this.)
2. Gain 2+ new insurance contracts. (Cited two new contracts we gained.)
3. Find a new, prime location for our office. (Reflected on our move and how grateful we were to find the right location.)

2018 Resolutions:

1. Double our referrals from 2017.
2. Gain 2+ new insurance contracts (Listed a few insurers we will tackle).
3. Strengthen our commitment to clinical and therapeutic results. (Cited how we will do this.)

In Retrospect:

In 2017 PRHSInc experienced the incredible benchmark of hiring two new full-time employees and finally being able to add the owner to our payroll. At the core we want to maintain an ethos of quality over quantity. We are a family and do not want to lose the cohesion and heart that we’ve put into the foundation of this business. Remember that you are a member and your presence matters. We are looking forward to 2018 and going into it with much hope and faith.

After our meeting we went out for dinner and drinks. The New Year represents reinvigorated hope and purpose. To share this with those you spend such a significant part of your days with reinforces perspective. Scripture tells us “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9-11). When you set goals by faith and action, even if you are not religious, what you are doing is habituating trial and error. When a goal that you made does not turn out, despite persistence, it is easier to regroup and try again when it has been quantified. If you have a destination to go to by a certain time, and there’s a road closure, do you go back home or do you use your GPS to find another route? You may be late but you will still arrive at your destination!

Here’s to hitting the road running in 2018 and being able to see how far you’ve gotten by 2019. Happy New Year!