A First Look at Our 2024 Goals!
What are you hoping to accomplish this year? Better development, more financial stability, or focusing on the kind of work that you can put your heart into? This week we’re talking goals, so let’s get that optimism flowing!
2024 Goals - Part 1
Last week we talked about the challenges Bureau members faced in 2023. Now we’re ready to look forward and see what people are hoping to accomplish this year. We asked about your hopes and dreams (within reason). Over the next couple weeks, we'll share the top 10 and look at ways to achieve them. Let's go!
Skills Development
Let’s start at the personal level. One of the top goals our Bureau members listed is a desire to get better. These might be related to their specific field, like expanding leadership skills or broadening project management experience. It might also be branching out to start learning an entirely new skillset to advance your career.
There are two great ways to go about this. First, you’ve got endless companies that offer corporate training courses in all kinds of areas. Start looking into them, decide whether online or in-person classes best fit your needs, what your budget is, and a timeline that works for you. The other option takes a little more legwork, but you might actually have someone you already work with who has the skills you’re looking for. Consider asking to shadow someone else at their job, or interview them to learn what makes them successful in the areas you are looking for.
Scaling Your Business
A top goal for anyone running a shop, but also tricky to pin down. We saw a ton of goals related to growth. It might be as straightforward as increasing your total revenue over last year’s numbers. It could also be to increase the size of your projects, add new skills to the team, or any number of other things. Maybe you want to finally open that office in Paris.
If this is what you’re looking to do, it’s all about specificity. You can’t just wish for “more success.” It’s all tied to very clear and measurable goals. And then you have to outline the steps you are going to take to get there. If you want new clients, what steps will you take to get them? It might require dedicating more hours to sales leads, asking for referrals from every existing client or putting more resources into advertising. Whatever it is, dial it in and put the work into it.
Doing Work That Matters
A counterpoint to the last goal, I’m always impressed by the dedication of our Bureau friends to finding a real sense of meaning in their daily work. Maybe your vision is helping your local community, or you might be looking at the big picture impact on society.
This one requires a little soul-searching. What kind of impact are you really looking for? Do you want to see the smiles on the face of people you help, or will you sleep better at night just knowing you’re working for a client who is helping reduce carbon emissions? Are you and your people going to volunteer in your community, or is it more about the projects you take on? Like any other goal, it might require balance to make sure you keep the company running even if you can’t feel this kind of personal connection with every client.
What other goals are we looking to meet this year? Find out next week!
Is it weird that I think of continual improvement like a game? I love making really small, positive changes that add up over time so I can set a high score. And the only thing I love even more than that is seeing others succeed. I hope your year has gotten off to a fabulous start, and fingers crossed it’s only going to get better!