The new year seems to ignite a sense of potential for both entrepreneur and employee. It isn’t just another first day of just another month. It isn’t the start of another quarter. It is a time that hums with energy as people use the year to springboard new ideas, launch new projects and overcome old habits. Part of this is thanks to the long break that most people take – it gives them the ability to switch off, rest and forget. But it is this break that seems to inspire the entrepreneur because, by their very definition, entrepreneurs need to be busy and the break reminds them of that…
So how can you take this energy and commitment and put it towards your business, harnessing the fervour to build on your success? The answers lie in four very simple steps…
1. Hold onto the energy
Most people love being busy and this creates a wonderful feeling of passion and excitement in the office. It is really important to not allow the mundane routine and admin of the normal office day to kill off this buzz. Keep it exciting in your first quarter and prolong the passion for as long as possible.
2. Create a culture that inspires
To achieve the first point, you need to create a culture in your business that allows people to feel and explore this energy. If your offices are not an exciting place for people to be, then they – the people, not the offices – will fall into the doldrums very quickly. Keep it exciting, lead from the front, live your own culture, motivate your people and reap the rewards of an excited and energised team.
3. Be realistic
You can drive the energy of your team onwards and you can build a culture that inspires it, but don’t expect people to keep their heads in the game all the way until December. There is a difference between a vibrant culture and the constant pressure to be on the ball and driven and energised. The latter is exhausting. Allow your teams the space they need to re-invent and re-energise throughout the year and make downtime part of the culture of harnessing your uptime.
4. Stay wide-eyed
Ideas are the lifeblood of the business and often rest and relaxation allow our brains to wander off in directions they were too stressed to think of before. Build on this creativity by allowing all kinds of ideas to be considered and suggested. Some will be crazy, others will be genius – give your employees the freedom to suggest and explore ideas as they may not only inspire your people, but land you a new and unexpected revenue stream further down the line.
