5 Items For A Memo From Myself to Myself

With the end of the year coming up it’s time to review what has happened last year and what will happen next year.

Harvard Business School asks CEO’s to write a memo to their Board each year summarizing lessons learned and plans for the new year. For a home office or small business owner you may not have a Board of Directors, but the principle remains the same.

So, what I recommend is writing a memo to yourself.

I’ve taken the liberty of modifying the list from Harvard, so here are the five things I recommend you actually write down in a memo…

1. Lessons learned in the past year
It’s okay if strategies or tactics didn’t work out as long as you realize why they didn’t work and correct it in the future. By the same token, write down what did work.

2. Top priorities for the next year
You should have 3 – 5 goals for the next year. Don’t add a new goal during the year unless it is replacing one has been completed.

3. Set parameters for those goals
Actually create a timeline for your objectives with earliest and latest completion dates and the top and bottom limits you want to spend to achieve them.

4. Lay out strategies
Sure, your goal is to make more money, but how? Create a new product, expand your mail list, improve customer service?

5. Review your memo regularly
Don’t just write it and forget it. Drag it out every month and see where you are. Are you on schedule? If one is near completion, what’s next?

There’s all sorts of gurus and coaches out there that will tell you to write your goals down. Why? Because it works! It only takes a few minutes and is well worth your time.