My 2014 New Years Resolutions: A Look Back

Before I start articulating my 2015 New Years resolutions, I thought it only fair to first take a look back at how I did in 2014. As you my recall, I penned a blog post last January entitled My Top 8 Work Related New Years Resolutions for 2014. I will now grade myself on each point.

Resolution #1 - Get Less "Likes."
In past years, I was overly concerned with being well-liked by employees. In 2014, I was determined to address this. How did I do? Better. I made a conscious effort throughout the year to stay in my role of CEO when interacting with employees rather than slipping into buddy mode. This made it easier to hold folks accountable. That being said, there is more work to be done on this front in 2015.
 
Grade: B-

Resolution #2 - Be More Direct.

A cousin to resolution #1, one of my goals was to work on being a more direct communicator especially when delivering negative feedback. I improved in this area. What I learned most throughout the year was that when I spoke from a place of sincerity and authenticity, folks were for the most part much receptive to my feedback.

Grade: B+
 

Resolution #3 - Get It In Writing.

Throughout 2014, I found meeting follow-up emails to be an incredibly helpful technique to prevent  miscommunication. Whether it was after a one on one or a group meeting, whenever I followed up with an email summary, it helped ensure all parties were on the same page. In cases when there was a miscommunication, the email quickly surfaced it. I will certainly continue this in 2015.

Grade:A-

Resolution #4 - No Surprises

I was hoping 2014 was the year that we stuck with our pledge of providing quarterly company updates to employees. Unfortunately we did not follow through on this commitment. We did provide daily visibility into revenue performance, but without proper color commentary to accompany it, the numbers didn't carry much meaning to employees. No excuses for 2015. We have already scheduled out the quarterly update meetings for the 2nd Friday of each quarter.


Grade:D

Resolution #5 - Connect the Dots

The goal here was to make sure we showed employees which projects tied to which metrics. To do this, we divided the teams and projects into two areas - Member Growth and Booking Growth. A third grouping, Client Traffic, was added later in the year. It was a bit of a rocky transition into this new structure, but overall it was a big improvement over the prior year. We will continue to iterate on this in 2015.


Grade: B-

Resolution #6 - Be Bold. Be Decisive.

I slept a little less soundly at night this year while my mind wrestled through the details of pending decisions, but once I made a decision, I did not look back. The competitive landscape demands this. I feel good about the progress I made in this area.

Grade: A-

Resolution #7 - Get Coached Weekly.

I continued my regular coaching sessions with Dr. Paul. Ok, so I admit, the sessions were monthly, not weekly. Why? As the year unfolded I realized that weeks came too quickly and a month was a more natural interval. The sessions continued to be invaluable. I most definitely plan to continue them in 2015.  
 
Grade: A

Resolution #8 - Hit The Numbers.

Ok, there's no sugar coating this one. We set high goals for ourselves in 2014, and while we all worked extremely hard to achieve them, we fell short of where we wanted to be. We still grew traffic and bookings, but not to the levels we aspired. For that reason, I have to give myself low marks in this area. The buck stops here. Make no mistake about it though. It has only deepened my resolve for 2015.

Grade:D

So that's a wrap on 2014. It's been a useful exercise to make goals and then hold myself accountable. I look forward to going through this same process for 2015. I encourage everyone to do the same!