How to Have a Stellar 2022!
Cathie Leimbach • January 11, 2022
Are you ready for a stellar 2022? If not, you still have time to build a sound foundation for the year.
If you haven’t started your annual business plan yet, now is the time to:
- Sit down at the computer with your word processor open.
- Type out a few sentences that summarize what you wish your business to accomplish this year.
- Pick 3 key goals that are key to achieving success in your business. Set a measurable target for each.
- Reflect on how last year went for you. Type out the things you wish to continue doing, the things you will stop doing, and things you can start doing for 2022 to be even better than 2021.
- From your start and stop lists, pick the top 3 change areas to focus on this year. Since we have limited change energy, don’t try to make changes in more than 3 areas at once.
Once you have prepared your simple business plan, having a stellar year requires being intentional about your business activities every week and each day. This includes having a basic written plan for each week and each day, monitoring how well you implemented your plan, and gradually improving your implementation.
The steps of weekly and daily planning are simple:
- At the beginning of each week, read through your 3 key measurable goals and your 3 change areas.
- Write down the 3 tasks that are most important to complete this week to achieve your key goals.
- At the beginning of each day, write down the 3 most important things to do that day towards the week's most important tasks.
- Also, write down other things that need done as part of your regular business operations.
Monitoring and revising your plans can be simple, too:
- At the end of each day, review what you achieved, acknowledge your successes and identify things to do differently the next day.
- At the end of each week, review your achievements and develop your plan for the next week accordingly.
- At least monthly, review your progress towards your 3 key measurable goals and your 3 change areas.
- Revise your strategy if you aren’t making enough progress. Modify your big picture plan if you learn that your original plan isn’t realistic.
I wish you a stellar 2022! If you develop your plan, work your plan, monitor your plan, and revise your plan, you will be celebrating success a year from now!
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.
Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game! Start with building trust . Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop. Next, embrace healthy conflict . Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives. Then, drive commitment . Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. . Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed. Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves. Finally, focus on results . Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily. Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met. Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score? Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you! Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.