Five Considerations When Setting Company Resolutions

A new year provides a great opportunity for a fresh start. However, it’s critical to begin with more than ‘good intentions.’ Not unlike personal New Year’s resolutions, it’s one thing to set company resolutions – resolutions which, if achieved, will make a sustained positive impact – and quite another to stay the course until success is achieved.

On a personal basis, per a 2015 University of Scranton study, only eight percent of individuals achieve the goals they set. I suspect company resolution success rates aren’t much higher. Success requires sustained behavior change and creating new habits aligned with company goals.

Consider the following when setting 2016 resolutions:

Process

1. Resolution Success Factors

The low rate of success in achieving resolutions points to the need for considerable dedication and a positive reinforcement structure. Success factors include:

A “champion” who leads from start to finish

A team approach with defined individual accountabilities

Clear definitions of each resolution and what makes its success important to the company

A realistic roadmap with checkpoints and interim goals

Making sometimes uncomfortable changes, with enough commitment to embrace changes until they become habits

Clear enduring benefits to the company – and optimally a majority of employees

2. Determine Worthy Resolutions

Begin with an annual year-end evaluation with your leadership team. Set the tone and personally demonstrate that openly discussing past successes and failures has the sole goal of identifying resolutions with the greatest positive company impact.

Optimal resolutions will 1) further key company performance objectives, and 2) solidify and enhance company culture – making your company a more desirable place to work, and an attractive company highly talented individuals will want to join.

Company Attributes

3. Reap the Value of Being A “People First” Organization

Leaders often publicly state, “People are our organization’s greatest asset.” However, far fewer actually practice that belief. Make 2016 the year company leaders daily ‘walk the talk’ of a “People First” organization.
Your employees will reward you for it.

4. Be A Company Talented Individuals Seek to Work For

There are a relatively small number of companies that publicly share their values and principles. These companies have a reputation of “doing the right thing” when others might have made ‘easier to stomach’ choices, or done nothing at all.

Not surprisingly, employees want to work for these companies.

Leading an open and transparent organization doesn’t come naturally to many business people. It goes completely against the “need to know” mantra of a siloed organization where information isn’t shared readily across the organization – much less outside the organization.

However, an atmosphere of frequent communication –including both achievements and challenges – helps employees feel ‘part of the team’, provides opportunities for collaboration and sharing, and improves understanding of factors driving change.

External transparency is welcome in virtually every industry. Gaining customer trust involves consistency in words and actions taken. As well, customer trust may take years to develop – and in today’s social-media driven world literally minutes to lose.

5. Lead daily according to established company values and principles – without fail.

Perhaps the most significant – and achievable – ‘company resolution’ is for leadership to set an example by making all daily decisions – even very tough ones – consistently adhering to company values and principles.

Leading daily operations in this manner results in pride among leaders and employees, and creates an industry reputation contributing to enduring success through strong customer relationships, talented future employees and respect on a broad scale.

Action Items:

The year-end evaluation has substantial potential if resolutions reflect key company priorities that will create positive momentum toward important changes going into the new year.

Ensure the session date and allotted time is scheduled well in advance to reinforce its importance. Suggest (and personally model) keeping notes throughout the year on what is working well and what could be improved.

Ask each individual on your leadership team to come prepared for the year-end evaluation armed with the top 3 – 5 successes and 3 – 5 failures or missed opportunities.

Begin the session with a clear outline of the objectives, and ask each individual to be thinking about where they can provide the best leadership in championing a resolution. You and your leadership team will need to champion resolutions.

Set the number of company resolutions high enough to include all core business functions and most employees , yet low enough that focus on a given resolution to make and sustain the necessary changes is not diminished.