Did You Meet Your Goals for the Year? How Do You Know?

Sometimes, it takes trial and error to land on a process that works for you. Some of us have to do it wrong a few times before we figure out the right way. Once we figure out our “right way,” we might stick with that method no matter what. But that’s just a good way to get stuck in a rut, or to repeat mistakes that might work for a micro-business but will only result in a lot of wasted time as you begin to scale up—or you might never scale up at all, stuck in the same pattern forever.
In business, we avoid these ruts the same way we avoid them in life: by taking risks and trying new things. How do you keep yourself from making a mistake now that will harm you in the future? By giving yourself a framework within which to try new things and evaluate their effectiveness. Having that framework in place makes risk a little less risky. If you’re sitting in the salon chair and decide getting bangs will change your life, you’re stuck with the outcome whether you like it or not for a few months. In business, we can manage those risks. With the right strategy, we’ll never get stuck with the wrong hairstyle, metaphorically speaking.
We always want to be trying new things and taking risks. Not wild and impulsive risks, but thoughtful ones. Whether it’s plants or goldfish, at some point, they’re going to outgrow their container and need to be put in a larger one. The same is true of a business: if you keep yourself within the same container—the same way of doing things—you will never get a chance to grow.
Why We Avoid Risk
When we find something that works, it makes us feel safe. Our internal resistance to questioning what we think works is a way to maintain that feeling of safety and security. Breaking out of a routine and taking a risk in the name of growth might not seem rational: think of everything that can go wrong! What if it doesn’t work and I suffer a major setback?
There’s another element to avoiding risk: we get comfortable in the thought that we already know what we’re doing. This isn’t due to some character flaw but to human nature. We all have our blind spots. We do what we know how to do, and when we come across new information, we tend to privilege what we already know. We think we know what we’re doing, so we don’t take the time to evaluate it and see if it is actually working the way we think it works.
Forethought, planning, and reflection after the fact are the keys to getting out of this cycle. Think of these risks more like controlled experiments that you conduct throughout the year, keeping what works and discarding what doesn’t, and always reflecting on the results. As we move into the new year, make it a priority to reflect on what worked and what didn’t in 2024 and set up a framework for trying new things and evaluating them in 2025.
Take Time to Reflect
As one year ends and a new one begins, take time to reflect on the goals you set at the beginning of the year. What goals did you meet? What did you do to meet them? What goals did you fall short of? What did you do that didn’t work, and what will you try next year instead?
You don’t have to wait until the end of the year to ask these questions. Part of your framework for taking risks should be a “lessons learned” assessment. This could be done monthly, quarterly, or at the end of each project. Build this reflection period into your workflow by mapping your process before beginning a project. You will then be able to more objectively reflect on each step of the process and work out those bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Building the assessment process into your workflow makes risk more manageable. It also makes you more likely to take that risk that gets you out of your established routines and into the new ways of thinking and acting that enable growth.
Framework for Year-End Review
Year-end reviews don’t start at the end of the year. They start at the beginning, with a plan for the year. After all, you can’t evaluate the effectiveness of a strategy if you don’t have one. With a strategy in place, you’ll then be able to determine how you’ll measure success or failure. Choosing the right metrics is key, and with the right framework in place, you can reflect on the relevance of your metrics throughout the year and experiment with new ones.
It all comes back to strategy: if you know who you are and what you do well, you can plan a strategy around it, define your goals, and then figure out how to achieve those goals, bravely take informed risks, and manage those risks. Only then can you effectively evaluate what truly works and what doesn’t. As you look back on 2024 and prepare for 2025, we’re here to help make sure you’re setting the right goals and putting in place the right strategy for meeting them.
Are You Ready to Do Better Growth Management?
StrategyWerx is all about growth strategy and management. That means giving you the tools you need to develop sound strategies, structure your organization to lay the track ahead of the train, and implement the tools you need to grow. Ready to learn more about how we do that? Book a free consult and bring your questions. See if you like working with us on our dime, and get some good advice in the process.