All too often, the rush of the holidays flows right into the New Year, leaving most of us little time to come up with a good answer to this question. We see a similar predicament play out year-round in manufacturing: modern machine shop owners are so busy managing the everyday operations that they lack the opportunity to think about the big picture.
If you want to set better resolutions in 2022, NTMA has some advice for you.
Stop and Reflect: Where Are You and Where Do You Want To Be?
Blindly advancing without thinking critically about the year behind you will get you nowhere fast. Before setting goals for the new year, start by reflecting on the previous one. Ask yourself these questions:
- Did we set the right goals? Achieving goals is one thing, but the important metric for success is whether your accomplishments impacted your business. If you didn’t notice any significant differences, you might not have set practical goals in the first place.
- Did we track the right metrics? There’s always the chance that you’re overlooking the right metrics. Take stock of other indicators of success and determine if it’s worth shifting your focus.
- What didn’t we do that we wish we had done? Are there stones left unturned that could have made a difference in your business? How can you center those initiatives in the upcoming year?
- Did you celebrate your wins? Company culture is an integral part of a thriving business. When your team reached its goals, did you take a moment to celebrate and acknowledge those achievements? What did you learn from your wins?
- What stood in your way—and what needs to change? Assess where bottlenecks slowed things down, what resources you lacked, and mistakes you made. Acknowledging these factors is key to improving in the future.
Next Step: Setting Better Resolutions for Your Modern Machine Shop
Once you’ve taken the time to sit down and reflect, you can be more intentional about your resolutions and—just as importantly—your strategies for achieving them.
For example, setting a 95% on-time delivery goal is good, but resolving to streamline quoting and front office operations is more prescriptive and likely to yield better results.
At NTMA, we encourage our members to strive for continuous improvement, which involves a combination of big-picture thinking, careful reflection, and thoughtful goal-setting.
NTMA offers excellent resources for establishing goals and resolutions. Check out our comprehensive benchmarking reports for hard data, or connect with a vast network of peers to discuss strategies for how to run a machine shop. Join NTMA today for instant access to these invaluable offerings!