New year, new you
By Rich Lindblom, AVB Marketing
As we embark on 2025, it’s time for you to think about what the new year is going to mean to you and your company.
Let’s start with New Year’s resolutions. Did you know that according to recent research, only 9% of New Year’s resolutions are kept for a full year?
Why is that? Why do they fail so frequently? The reality is it’s because they were unattainable in the first place. The goal was either too bold and impossible to achieve or just too difficult to maintain and track.
Does that mean you stop making resolutions altogether? Of course not. Setting goals for yourself and your company are a critical exercise that everyone should utilize regularly. You just need to be more realistic about the goals you set.
Here are a few tips to help you set and achieve your goals and resolutions this year:
Set Realistic, Achievable Goals
Let’s face it, if you set an unrealistic goal such as growing your business by 100% this year, you are simply setting yourself up to fail. You need to look at your history and set a goal that you can actually achieve.
Set Measurable Goals
When setting goals and making resolutions, you need to make sure that they are measurable; otherwise you will fail. Simply saying, “I want to lose weight this year” or “I want my company to sell more machines this year,” without setting any specifics, are not measurable goals.
Make a Plan
You need to be able to create a plan, a roadmap to achieving your goals, otherwise you are destined to fail. Set specific benchmarks and deadlines to keep yourself on track as you strive to achieve your goals. A goal without a plan is going to fail 100% of the time.
Be Persistent
Follow your plan and stick with it. And most important, don’t get down on yourself if you fail to meet a goal or deadline. Redouble your efforts, get back on track and make sure you meet your next goal on time.
If you follow these steps when setting your goals, you will find greater success in achieving them this year and in the future.
I also have another tip I’d like to offer you which, if implemented, will greatly improve your chances of achieving your goals and resolutions in 2025. I like to call it “The 1 Percent Rule.” Here’s the concept in a nutshell: If you can improve yourself or your company just 1% at a time, it is a much more realistic way to achieve your goals. After all, how hard can it be to make a tiny 1% improvement?
In the simplest of terms, it is far easier to make a 1% change than it is to make a 5% or 10% change. It’s kind of like that scene in “The Great Outdoors,” when John Candy consumes the “Old 96er.” He won free dinners for the table by eating an entire 96-ounce steak all by himself, one small bite at a time. And if you attack your goals in small bites, you too will have a much greater likelihood of success.
The thing is, a change of 1% per day would result in a 365% increase in a year. While that sounds amazing, it is unrealistic and goes against the very first step I listed above. But what about 1% per week? Doesn’t that sound more realistic and achievable? A 1% change per week would result in a 52% change at the end of the year, which is pretty impressive if you ask me.
The Bottom Line
Setting goals and resolutions is an important part of both personal and professional success, but you need to be smart about how you do it. If you follow the tips I spelled out, you are far more likely to achieve your goals.
Here’s wishing all of you a happy and successful 2025.
Rich Lindblom is a past principal of Chicago’s Advanced Maytag Home Appliance Center and a member of BrandSource’s Maytag Channel Council. After four decades of working at and eventually leading the 64-year-old family business, Rich and his brother sold the operation. He now shares his hard-won retail know-how with BrandSource dealers as a YSN columnist and member of the AVB Marketing product team. Contact Rich at rich.lindblom@avb.net.
