Resolutions... and Intentions

Happy New Year!   How are you starting off your year?  Does your list of resolutions include losing weight, getting organized, or reading more?   What about starting the business you've been dreaming about, tackling that business plan that you have been putting off, or committing to attending more networking events? 

I usually avoid making new resolutions that I'm sure to break before February.  So instead we, at Alayne Strategies, are creating a list of intentions, which we hope will make us more effective at achieving our mission:

Mission:  

• To empower clients.
• To transform ideas and dreams into successful businesses.

We paused this holiday season, took a moment away from our clients, and took stalk of our own 2013.  During a strategic planning session, much like those we facilitate for our clients, we noted our list of accomplishments, successes, and reasons to be grateful.  We also analyzed the areas that need improvement.  The result of our planning and assessing is a list of intentions for 2014.  These intentions are comprised of both high-level goals for the year and smaller monthly goals.  We also created a list of weekly and monthly tasks to accomplish to help keep us on track pushing us forward toward our big goals.

If you would like to try to set your own intentions for 2014, first brainstorm 3 to 5 ambitious goals for the year.  Then break each of them down to smaller more manageable monthly goals.  Finally assess each monthly goal to determine what bite-sized tasks are needed to achieve these goals.  For example, a high-level goal for 2014 could be to increase your number of clients by X%.  Consider if this number is divisible by 12 for your monthly goal or if different months need different size goals in order to achieve the annual goal.  Once you have set your monthly goals, brainstorm tasks that will help you achieve these goals.  Maybe you want to spend a month focusing on your marketing materials?  Maybe you need to expand your services or geographic reach?  Or maybe you wish to commit to attending 1 conference each month and 1 local networking event each week.  As you build your intentions remember that your big goals for 2014 should be beyond reach while your weekly (or even daily) tasks should be manageable and reinforce each larger goal.

We coach clients in many different ways to help them achieve their dreams.  Some clients are project based and schedule many intense sessions within a month (or longer) to address their specific business concerns.  We meet some clients weekly to consistently designate time to build business and strategic plans.  And others prefer to schedule quarterly strategic planning sessions.  As a new year begins, consider how you can best use your resolutions (or intentions) to achieve your goals.  We would be happy to help you build the 2014 of your dreams.