Business Strategy Coaching DIY template
_For a while now I’ve been using my “PROUD” daily review template. It’s inspired by Heather Small’s hit “What have you done today to make you feel proud?”, and I find it a great way to end the day (see my post about it here: TheBusyFool.com/what-have-you-done-today-to-make-you-feel-proud/. And as I sat here, on the first real weekend of 2011, I realised that it also made a good framework for reviewing the past year. And then, I added an extra element – a PROUD look forward at the year to come.
The new yearly review template looks at the year gone by from four aspects of acheivement:
P = Performed – in other words, what did you do well? It’s important to start with a reminder that you actaully did achieve things of value.
R = Review & Remedy – what could you have done better? Feeling great about your achievements is important, and so is knowing where you need to improve.
O = Objectives – and what progress you made towards them. Keeping your goals in front of you is important in the daily review, and more so for the yearly – it’s very easy to drift a long way off course over a year!
U = Understanding – knowing what you learned, and what distinctions you made that will help you get where you’re going. We all need to make little course corrections (or maybe big ones), and acting on these learnings keeps you on track.
And then challenges you to set out your plans for the next year, and commit to them:
D = Do Next (in 2011)
And this is where the yearly process really differs from the daily one – the actions column is broken down into another set of PROUD aspects, to help you with your own business strategy coaching:
P = Prepare – what you will put in place to assure your success beyond just the next year. It’s the actions that we take now that will determine how far towards our dreams we travel in the future – it’s not all about the short term.
R = Realise – what you will make happen in the short term. Long term planning is essential, and so is short-term revenue and achievement. This makes sure you can keep body and soul together.
O = Overcome – those challenges that so far you’ve allowed to hold you back, and that you’re no longer willing to let get in your way. Recognising obstacles and determining to overcome them is going to be key to your success for 2011.
U = Understanding – this is the only element I’ve kept the same, and for a reason. All progress is about learning, and if you know what you need to learn and actively seek it, you’re far more likely to find the knowledge and wisdom.
D = DARE– dare to set yourself big scary goals, dare to believe you can achieve more than you ever have before, dare to dream that you can do anything you commit to doing!
Of course, as well as engaging coaches to help me, I do a lot of my own business strategy coaching. Going through the annual review process was very helpful – it allowed me to see some key issues that had held me back during the last year, and also to realise that I did actually achieve quite a lot too. Certainly enough to feel proud about 2010. And the new part of the process, committing to actions for the year ahead, seeing and believing what I’m going to acheive this year, makes me feel very proud about 2011.
I’d love you to try out the new template – just go to TheBusyFool.com/proud-yearly-review/ and let me know how you find it.
