As the year 2023 comes to a close, many of us have likely already started making New Year's resolutions. Setting goals and making plans for the upcoming year are undoubtedly important. However, I would argue that it is equally important to take the time to reflect on the past year.
Conducting a year-end assessment will allow you to focus properly on 2024. Just like any business, I'm sure you experienced both successes and failures in the past year. You made some good choices and some that were questionable. By delving deeper into your overall business, you can learn valuable lessons that will enable you to make wiser decisions in 2024.
Let's start by examining what worked well. We'll kick things off with the positives. By breaking this down into a few categories, it will be easier to identify what specifically worked well in 2023. Can these decisions be built upon or replicated? These are the aspects that you should be cautious about making too many changes to in
2024. As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Consider the following categories:
- Overall business decisions - What were some significant changes you made in the past year that paid off? Did you try something new that worked?
- Staffing - Did you make any successful adjustments to your team? This could involve adding or reducing headcount. How did your pay scale or bonus structure impact your team? Was it positive?
- Structure - Did any remodeling, changes in traffic flow layout, or addition of signage result in more patients and a better overall atmosphere?
- Point of sales - Did adding new products, frame lines, or lens options lead to increased sales in the past 12 months?
- Vendors - Did adding a new vendor help you generate more revenue or improve the lives of your staff and patients?
- Advertising - Which advertising methods provided the best return on investment (ROI) in 2023?
Now let's take a look at the changes in 2023 that didn't work out well. These could range from total failures to changes that had little to no impact. Since people generally dislike change, making a change without any added benefit should be considered a failure.
Consider the same categories as before:
- Overall business decisions - What were some significant changes you made in the past year that didn't pay off? Did the implemented change not yield any positive outcomes?
- Staffing - Did any adjustments to your team backfire? This could involve adding or reducing headcount. Did your approach to wages or bonuses have a negative impact on overall morale?
- Structure - Did you consider remodeling, changing traffic flow layout, or adding signage but ultimately decide against it? Or perhaps a remodel or layout change didn't work out as planned?
- Point of sales - Did the addition of new products, frame lines, or lens options result in a lackluster response from your patients? Did you invest a significant amount of cost, training, and time into items that didn't resonate with your patients?
- Vendors - Did adding or removing a vendor not have the desired effect? Did you find that the grass wasn't greener on the other side?
- Advertising - Where did you waste money on advertising in 2023?
Before creating a to-do list for 2024, take a few minutes to review these six simple categories. Identify the wins and losses for each one. As Edmund Burke wisely said, "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
What can you learn from 2023 that will help you make better business decisions in 2024? Replicate the successful strategies and avoid repeating the mistakes.
Hindsight may be 20/20, but it is the key to a blessed and successful 2024!
