Hooray it’s almost Spring! It has been a long, cold winter with lots of hibernation.
I LOVE Spring. It is symbolic & meaningful in so many ways, symbolizing growth, warmth, hope, and rebirth. The Spring equinox is the time in the Earth’s annual cycle around the sun in which day and night are equal in length, before the days start to get longer, following the dominance of darkness in the winter.
This transition often symbolizes our internal struggles. In order to move forward, grow, and evolve, we must endure the battle between darkness & light, and between degeneration & growth. We must allow ourselves the physical, emotional, and spiritual room to shed what no longer works for us (Fall), to hibernate, rest, & re-strengthen (Winter), and then to reawaken (Spring).
As we move into Spring, I wish you a re-awakening full of promise, purpose, and joy.
I also wish you LUCK with Spring cleaning. Here are tips to get your business-house in order, with a focus on your People and Your Processes.
People (Employees, Customers, Partners, Networking Communities)
Employees
Where are you with your employees? Do they feel connected to you? Do they easily approach you with questions or concerns? If not, this is a good time to open the lines of communication. Spring is a great time to hold a Town Hall meeting where you can present a State of the company, and address concerns you’ve collected anonymously. I walk you through how to conduct great Town Halls
here.
Customers
When was the last time you personally connected with your customer, voice-to-voice, or face-to-face? What does your pipeline look like for new customers? What can you do to discover additional opportunities within existing accounts or open new accounts?
Partners
How does your partnership network look? Have you opened up potential partnerships for teaming or for referrals, but have not nurtured them? This is a good time to evaluate how to leverage these relationships for mutual benefit.
Networking Communities
Are you in the right communities? Are you paying for memberships you are not using? Perhaps it’s time to attend an event in an existing or new community, or cancel.
Processes & Infrastructure (Accounting, HR, IT)
Accounting
Are you satisfied with your accounting support? As a business grows, our accounting support needs change as well. I recently changed to a more experienced bookkeeper who has a staff to provide additional support. Are your books up to date? When was the last time you conducted an expense audit on the basic services you need for your business? These include phone plans, insurance plans, utilities, wireless services, etc. Do you have any open credit cards for former employees that you forgot to cancel?
HR
Are your onboarding training materials, HR policies, and employee manuals updated with the latest general HR policies and state-by-state policies? Be sure to include information that will protect your business regarding employee digital communication. Refer to my latest Inc. column on this topic
here.
IT
Are your IT licenses renewed and up-to-date? Do you have any active licenses or accounts that you no longer need but are still incurring charges? Do you have any outstanding phones on your plans for former employees?
Are all links on your website(s) active and current? This includes your website, newsletter, and email signature links.
Is your email inbox overloaded? If so, try to allocate 15 minutes a day to go through your inbox and scrub it. Few things feel as good at the office as purging your inbox, and seeing a low number of unread emails.
I hope these tips help you clear the clutter and cobwebs from some of the elements impeding your progress. It’s much too easy to become overwhelmed with clutter, which always weighs us down and slows us down!
A blank slate – or at least a clean slate – paves the way for great personal and organizational growth.
Good luck!
Marissa
——————————————————————————————————–
Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.
About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.
Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected].
Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).
Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.
~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
Hooray it’s almost Spring! It has been a long, cold winter with lots of hibernation.
