Count Your Successes

Mom used to always say “count your blessings”.  As the year comes to an end, organizations should to the same – with a twist.

If you work in an organization that is making plans for the new year, you should “count your successes”.

The path to growth and improvement can be long and bumpy.  There can be detours, side-tracks, unexpected challenges.   And that long, bumpy ride can make progress feel like a failure.

But if you stop, take a breath, and look back, you will see how far you’ve come.  It may not be as far as you wanted, but it’s almost always further than you thought it was before you took the time to look back and count your successes.

For the people who work in an organization, taking the time to reinforce the progress that has been made and the good work that has been done is invaluable.  Nothing motivates a team like a bit of success.  A winning team is pumped and ready to go out and win again.

This doesn’t mean you should completely ignore things that have not gone well.  But for just a moment, don’t focus on the misses.  Focus only on the hits.  Tell people that too… “I know it hasn’t been perfect.  We can talk about all of the ways we could have done better another time.  For now, let’s just be proud of all that we have accomplished.”

So take time to count the successes your organization has had over the last year.  And celebrate!