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New Year’s Resolution by CEOs

New Year's Resolutions by CEOs

How do some of the biggest names in business handle their resolutions for the new year? How do they and others stay focused in the upcoming year? What New Year’s resolutions do they make? Read on to find out.

A lot of resolutions are made at the beginning of each new year because almost everyone around the world does so.

For the upcoming few months, many business leaders like to use this time to set goals that will help their organizations grow more successfully.

Entrepreneur, investor, author, podcaster, and lifestyle expert Tim Ferris

The Tim Ferris Show was recently named the best business podcast by Fortune Magazine with over 300 million downloads made. Tim Ferris has stopped making resolutions for the new year. He performs “past year reviews” instead. He considers them to be more valuable, informed, and practical. His method is as follows:

  • Take a piece of paper, and in two columns, write “POSITIVE” and “NEGATIVE.”
  • Look at every week in your calendar from the previous year.
  • Make a note of any people, pursuits, or obligations that triggered strong positive or negative feelings. Place them in the appropriate columns.
  • What 20% of each column produced the most dependable or potent peaks after you’ve gone through the previous year? Ask yourself as you review your notepad list.
  • Using this knowledge, change the “negative” column’s label to “Not-to-do list.” To help you remember the people and things that make you unhappy, keep this list somewhere you can see it.
  • Review the items in the “positive” column after that and plan more of those occasions for the coming year. Start making plans with friends and paying in advance for commitments and activities you know will have a positive impact.
  • To avoid being overshadowed by noise and distraction, Ferris advised, “Get the positive things on the calendar ASAP.” “It’s not real until it’s on the calendar.”

Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates

Bill Gates carries out his “end-of-year assessment” each year. What was I excited about, he wonders. What could I have done to improve?

Other life-related questions he asks himself include: “Did I spend enough time with my family?” Do I have enough new knowledge? Did I forge new friendships and strengthen old ones?

Photon Group co-founder Siimon Reynolds

Simon Reynolds performs a quick workout. He sets aside ten minutes to reflect on these two issues:

  • In which of my top 3 business areas do I need to raise the bar the most?
  • What is the absolute best way to proceed in each situation?

The benefit of this exercise is that it improves your clarity.

Additionally, it doesn’t burden you with a lengthy to-do list (that often never gets done).

You end up with a select few actions that will have an impact on the success of your business.

US investor on “Shark Tank” Robert Herjavec

“I abide by my calendar to the death.” A successful end-of-year ritual for Robert Herjavec involves planning his calendar for the entire following year. It enables me to manage my priorities and time.

He claimed that making plans a full year in advance maximizes his output.

It doesn’t mean that everything on the calendar has to be confirmed, he explained, but knowing where I’ll be and when will help me make the most of my time.

He advised Fortune Magazine to “set aside time to do a full calendar review six months, or a year out, to make sure you are on track with your yearly goals as well.”

There are ways Fullstack can support you whenever you’re prepared to begin scaling up your business. You can schedule a strategy session with us here if you need assistance getting everything in order for this year.

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Stuart Reynolds
is the founder of Fullstack Advisory, an award-winning accounting firm for businesses leading the future. He is a 3rd generation accountant who specialises in tech companies, crypto and entrepreneurs.

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