The summer holiday season has finally come to an end for Australian and New Zealand businesses. The "silly season" from mid December till the end of January brings everyone back to work with suntans and refreshed minds.

Holidays provide an opportunity to get away from the business to spend time pursuing other activities.  The business however, is never far away.  Unless you are totally out of range of telephones and the internet, the business goes on holiday with you.  You do get time to reflect though, away from the bustle of working every day in the business:

• How have we done in the last year?
• What mistakes did we make that we can avoid in the future?
• Where is the business headed?
• When do I plan to retire?
• What new opportunities are out there that we need to look into?
• Is there a better way of doing what we do?
• and so on...

Why not start the new year by writing down your goals for yourself and your business for the next year, and the three or four years beyond that? What is the strategic intent for your business, and what is the gap between the current reality and this strategic intent?

Writing your thoughts down gives you something tangible to think about and gives you the opportunity to develop strategies for change and prioritise them.  This means that the actions that you take in the new year are taken intentionally, and therefore have a greater chance of success.

And, don't forget to ask for help if you need it - you probably don't have all of the answers yourself.