Expert EOY Advice: 12 December ‘To-Dos’ for Every Business
Business Journals Leadership Trust is an invite-only network of influential business leaders, executives and entrepreneurs in your community.
December is a busy month for most companies as they work to complete quarterly and annual objectives before members of the team head out for the holidays. Amid the hustle and bustle of this month, it’s easy to overlook some of the important end-of-year reflections, tasks and plans that can give your team a head start in the pursuit of success in the year ahead.
Below, members of Business Journals Leadership Trust share some items business leaders should focus on completing before the current calendar page is turned. Add their recommendations to your team’s December to-do list to ensure you’re fully ready and revved up to tackle a new year.
1. Define the next year in one word.
Every December, I have senior leadership perform an exercise with all their team members: Everyone must think of one word that defines the next year for them, and they should always be ready to explain what that word is and why they’ve chosen it to anyone who asks. It’s very simple on the surface; however, it takes on a completely different level of thought once you start to think through your answer. This exercise leverages two fundamental elements behind successful people: self-reflection and focus. Only choosing one word also forces people to focus more on their strengths, because building one strength will drive much more success than fixing a bunch of weaknesses. You can’t be successful if you don’t know your strengths, and you’ll never be successful without focus. – Scott Puccinelli, fuelAI
2. Review tax strategies and retirement plan contributions.
A commonly overlooked task in December is a thorough review of tax strategies and retirement plan contributions. By addressing these before the year ends, leadership teams can optimize tax benefits, maximize retirement contributions and ensure they’re leveraging every available deduction. This small step can have a meaningful impact on the company’s financial health and employee retention, setting a strong foundation for the upcoming year. – Andrew Bird, CFP®, RICP®, CLU®, Mosaic Financial Partners – Northwestern Mutual
3. Update your core business documentation.
Many owners forget to update their core business documentation. The minutes of an annual shareholders’ meeting (for a corporation) or members’ meeting (for an LLC) to reelect the board of directors or managers may seem like an unnecessary detail. If there is litigation, however, that documentation can help preserve the veil between the business and its owners. Many owners let this slide for years, endangering the very protection that forming the entity was supposed to provide. Set a reminder to do this simple task at the end of every year. – John Dini, MPN Inc.
4. Check into industry trends and get your employees’ input on next year’s goals.
Whether they’re running a small or large business, a leadership team should look toward next year’s goals and objectives. Leadership will also want to periodically monitor, throughout the year, whether current goals are on track and make necessary adjustments if they’re not. It is important for leadership to contemplate changes to keep up with trends in the industry, such as AI, and understand how such trends may impact the business. Requesting and obtaining input from employees to ensure they are recognized as part of the team is also necessary. Before the end of each year, it may also be valuable to touch base with local industry associations or organizations to discuss successful business practices and consider implementing any that might benefit your company. – Chris Rockers, The Claims Group
5. Compare results to goals and activities.
Even with year-end “busyness,” we take time to reflect, comparing actual results to our goals and taking inventory of what transpired across every area of the business. We follow Greg Bustin’s Migration Chart methodology to view our results alongside our activities in sales, marketing, our product mix, the team, key challenges and more. We’ve done this for 15 years, so it’s easy to see the evolution across all of these streams. It’s a powerful pause point that helps us to envision how the work streams progress and create a plan to keep us moving forward. Hands down, it’s the most important thing I do as a leader each year! – Helene Lollis, Pathbuilders
6. Assess your digital transformation status.
December is a great time to assess where your organization is with its digital transformation strategies. Year-over-year progress and benchmarking against competitors are great themes to discuss ahead of the new year. Look to set expectations and goals for areas of the business that can improve with the help of technology, and you can expect to see results soon after. – Bill Rokos, Parsec Automation
7. Hold a year-in-review retreat.
For 15 years, I brought my leadership team to an overnight offsite retreat every December to review the year and complete a strategic planning session for the upcoming year. Most importantly, we developed a roadmap and agenda for our companywide retreat in January. Both retreats focused on planning and team-building, with very few administrative or reporting activities so we could maximize our precious time. – Kent Lewis, pdxMindShare
8. Express gratitude to your stakeholders.
I advise business leaders to express gratitude to all the players who contribute to their firm’s success: employees, communities, customers, vendors, suppliers, investors and so on. November has a great springboard, Thanksgiving Day, that can meaningfully expand into December and the holiday season. I advise leaders to express gratitude in December because it creates positive emotions and good experiences and builds strong relationships and trust with the people who contribute to business leaders’ successes. I also advise them to express genuine gratitude without expecting anything in return! – Pradeep Anand, Seeta Resources
9. Reflect on organizational development and leadership goals.
Leaders should reflect on the progress made in organizational development and leadership goals, not just financial goals. Assessing progress in these areas and using it to inform goals for the upcoming year is a healthy practice to align growth, development and engagement. This is especially important when unforeseen circumstances could change a company’s succession planning or projections. – Amy Loth Allen, Emery Sapp & Sons
10. Review what you’ve accomplished personally and as a company.
I think most people view life in terms of stages and milestones. Birthdays, company anniversaries and the year-end holiday season are times to reflect on what one has done personally and as a company. It always helps to look at what one has accomplished for the year relative to the long-term view. Have at least one session to do this. – Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures
11. Hold a holiday celebration for team members and their families.
One often-overlooked task I advise every leadership team to prioritize in December is a meaningful year-end reflection combined with a holiday celebration that includes team members and their families. I always say we spend more time with our colleagues than our own families, so it’s essential to create an environment where everyone feels appreciated and connected. By recognizing achievements, discussing lessons learned and celebrating together, we set a positive tone for the new year. This approach not only boosts morale, but also deepens bonds within the team, fostering loyalty and a shared commitment as we enter the next chapter. – Ali Sinan, Occams Group
12. Create a comprehensive year-end summary.
Every business leadership team should prioritize a year-end summary in December, assessing whether they met initial projections and identifying any missed targets. This reflection is essential for effective planning, setting the stage for stronger strategies and goals in the coming year. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising
