The dreaded top 10 list. They are everywhere I look. I think what I hate most about them is how victimized I feel after I click the link. The promises of instant gratification are alluring, yet so gutless. It would all be too easy if something could be fixed, identified or resolved in 10 quick steps.

So, what am I really searching for? Do I actually think someone else’s “top 10 list” will be a magic “grow 2015” pill? Over the last few weeks I have been up to my elbows in closing out 2014 and preparing for 2015; dreaming of how we can be bigger, better and have greater impact. 

The fact is, when I think about it, this past year really panned out to be a great year. The company grew; a lot. With horizontal and vertical growth we were able to keep up with the demands of an ever growing client base and deliver the kind of service that we can stand behind.

2014 marked a year of substantial growth for many. I am not the only one experiencing it or even saying it. Word on the street is it was. We saw stabilization, growth and development from every industry we worked with. The economy started getting back on track and cash was flowing. While we are a social mess of a society at times, the ever mighty dollar was doing what it was supposed to. A year like this makes me smile.

And yet I find myself trolling the internet, clicking on the easiest way to get even better. It would be so much easier and faster if some magic “list” could do the work that needs to be done. Yet if you have been around awhile, then you know the easy way out is exactly that—the easy way out and in no way is it going to get you where you need to be.

Look at your business and see what it tells you. Take the time to review your numbers, evaluate quantifiable outputs and reflect upon how you got to where you did. This is what will tell you what truly needs to stay put for next year or what is keeping you from where you want to be for next year.

Take time to pause …… and then move on. Come on, don’t linger—as January will be August before you know it and yet again you will find yourself with endless excuses for why you haven’t achieved things. Moving on means that you need to reflect, identify, declare your next steps and go. I find 3 out of 4 of these items to be easy. 4 is tricky. To “go” means to know what to do. Well, shoot if I knew that already than I would have already gone.

You mean I have to learn how to do it? How to be better? What new system or strategy to develop? Be organized and planned?

While I wish a top ten list could easily fix what it is I need—I realized this year it is a waste of time, because it will not. I have made a declaration that 2015 will be different. I will not troll for quick fix schemes. I will not try to avoid the true work that needs to happen. I will build missing systems and strategies and I will change who I am for the better.

As I transition into 2015, I remember the basics to any successful year. Vision Planning, goal setting, fiscal planning, budgeting and marketing strategy. These dynamic tools alone won’t save a sinking ship or double your business, but they are the solid tools to laying down a foundation that you can build upon.

I may turn off my machine for a few days and avoid what seems to lurk everywhere; someone trying to catch my attention for a few minutes and waste my time. What really is important and how are you going to get their?

Happy New Year,

Rachel