Keep Pushing Your Goals: The Years Not Over!

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast that transforms female corporate executives into powerhouse leaders by showing them how to shed the challenges and overwhelm along with any fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and negativity holding them back. I'm your host, Bernadette Boas of Ball of Fire Coaching, bringing you powerhouse experts each week to share tips, advice, and sometimes tough love that will allow you to create the riches in your work and life you deserve. So let's do this. Today's episode is Ask Me Anything. We do this the first Tuesday of every month, and basically you provide questions, stories, or challenges that you're dealing with, and I have happened to provide you tips, advice, and sometimes tough love in order for you to be able to continue moving forward, create those riches that you want and deserve, and become that powerhouse leader. So today we are going to focus on one deep dive question, and that's all about finishing out the year strong. As a matter of fact, it says, what can I still get done in December when everyone else is checking out? So I want to take this question in two parts because our legacy audience has been entrepreneurs, and our latest and newest audience that have been joining in over the last 6 or 7 months has been corporate professionals. So I'm going to break this question down into both a response for corporate professionals as well as entrepreneurs. Keeping in mind, though, that even if you are in a corporate organization— I used to always call myself an intrapreneur even in my early 20s— you still are, if you're managing a team, if you're even an individual contributor working on projects and tasks, you are dealing with very similar, uh, situations and issues and challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs do. So, um, little uniquenesses, obviously, especially when it comes to selling, and we'll get to that in a minute. But at the same time, uh, what we talk about for either group of people can easily be translated and adapted into whatever position or situation you're dealing with right now. All right. Um, I do want to also mention that anytime you have a question, a story, or a challenge that you want some support and advice in, just leave your comments on whichever platform you're listening or watching this. And myself or someone from my team will be scanning that for not only days, but for weeks to ensure that if anybody has reached out, uh, we get you back the support and the, and the tips and advice that you need and deserve. So Just because we're dealing with this one question right now doesn't mean we can't— if we see your, your comment, we can't reach out and provide you the same support. All right, now, um, when it comes to this question about what can I still be doing in December when everyone else seems to be checking out, we're first going to talk corporate. All right, now corporate You could be in sales, and that might appear very different than if you're in marketing or HR or operations, another area of the business. So let me kind of use corporate and use sales as an initial example, but then think about, as we're having this conversation, think about how you could adapt it into whatever it is that you might be dealing with so you can finish off the year strong. So from a sales perspective, it was always at least my understanding when I was in corporate up until 2000, late 2007, and I had the benefit of working with a top-notch salesperson. I was in pre-sales, but I wasn't responsible for actually closing the deal, so to speak. My, my goals and objectives weren't on about closing the business before the end of the month, or at, in this case, the end of the year, and it didn't affect whether or not what my opportunities were going to be for the following year. Whereas for sales, and in this case for, for my mentor, for, for many years, it definitely was a core objective and measurement for him and for probably most people that are in sales, whether you are an entrepreneur or work for Corporate Sales. And that is, is all centered around the fact that December is a very active sales month. People are still spending. People are still spending for multiple reasons. One, people are spending because the fact that, um, if they don't use the budget that they have right now, then they could lose it going into the new year. Because executives are looking over their, their, you know, plans and actuals from this year and saying, oh, okay, well, wait a minute, if this person didn't, you know, need to spend this money on whatever products or services that are needed, then maybe they don't need it, need it next year. And that could even be translated to training, to development, to new applications and tools internally, whatever the case might be. And so therefore, they could be making adjustments to your budget and your plan going into the new year if you don't spend it this year. So it's a key question that I learned from my mentor, uh, to ask that question, whether it is a business owner like myself going to my clients or internally in a corporate organization going to your prospects and clients and internal representatives. That could be, like I said, HR, could be, um, your boss, it could be, you know, IT, it doesn't matter. The question is, hey, do you have monies that you need to be spending right now? Because there's a chance that if you don't spend it, it'll be taken from your budget going into the new year. And you'd be surprised how often all of a sudden someone would be like, what, what, wait, what? Like, really? I, I knew that, but I just didn't translate it to the fact that I should be active in December Um, making sure that I'm using up my budget should I really have legitimate reasons to do so. And there are a lot of businesses out there— if you're a salesperson, there are a lot of businesses out there that if you were to go to them and say, hey, look, um, there's a benefit to both of us should you spend the money now, even though I might not deliver it until the new year, and the benefits to the, uh, customer would be the fact that, well, you're going to give them an incentive, uh, discount for buying it now, and even though they're not going to use it until next year. So one, they get a discount. Two, they get to spend that money that they might need to spend, you know, without the risk of losing it going into the new year. For you, the salesperson's benefit of going and asking that question and trying to secure and close as much business all the way up until December 31st is that you can meet your goal and objective. Now, I have— I heard my mentor multiple times say to their client, you know, I have this goal and objective and I'm just X thousands of dollars away from meeting it. Is there any chance you need something going into the new year that we can put on the books right now before the end of the close of this year. So you get a discount and, and get it on the, you know, get it ready for when you want it delivered, and I meet my goals and objectives, and we both win. Awesome, awesome question to be going out to your clients now. So entrepreneurs, you could be listening to that as well because it's definitely applicable to you. Is even though you might be a small business or, you know, even a larger business, If you're thinking that people aren't still spending this year, uh, even your corporate prospects or clients— so you might be an entrepreneur but you work like I do in corporate, uh, then there's no loss to you going and asking, hey, is there any chance you're going to lose your budget going into next year if you don't spend it this year? And therefore, if so, is there something that we can close on before the end of the month Uh, so you have it, and then I meet my goals and objectives. So, and at the same time, for entrepreneurs, the objective too is you're getting more, more cash flow in now, unless you have plenty and then you want to wait until the new year. But there's oftentimes where entrepreneurs have not met, uh, their sales goals and objectives, and therefore don't stop selling and prospecting just because it's someday in December and you're feeling that, oh, there's only, you know, 3 weeks left, 2 weeks left, a week left, uh, so I might as well just wait until, you know, to come up for air until January 1st. Wrong. Go and ask your prospects and your clients if there is an opportunity for you to, uh, close on some business before the end of the year because of X, Y, and Z, which benefits them as well, especially if you're going to give them a discount or incentive for doing so. Okay, and those— it doesn't have to even be a straight discount, it can be some sort of incentive. We won't go into all of that here, but if you do want to talk to me about kind of what are all those options and configurations of how you can present yourself to really be able to close in on some business, and/or what we'll talk about next is raises, bonuses, promotions, then feel free to schedule some time with me, complimentary time, where we can, we can have those discussions and only that discussion and get you some tips and advice and strategies and techniques for how you can go about doing that. All right. So again, keep, keep selling and keep looking to close business, uh, should you need it before the end of the year. Um, and it's a great incentive for your clients as well. All right, so apart from that, and that, and like I said, that was probably one of the best lessons I learned, you know, in my corporate career, but more so from a sales perspective. And it didn't apply that often to me in corporate, but certainly has for the last 12, 14 years since I've been on my own. All right, so Moving on from that, from a sales perspective and keeping it to corporate, the other area that I'm asked about a lot is, I'm going to say, for those already in corporate, they currently have a job, but they're looking for a bonus, a raise, a promotion, a new, you know, change or project assignment, whatever the case might be. Again, this time of year is a great year— or a great year— a great time to go and talk to your boss, put the cards on the table, tell them exactly what it is that you're looking for, and to not only make the request or make the ask, but also then to, to seek additional feedback in regards to it. So let me break that down. So say there is a raise or promotion— well, let's stick with raise or slash bonus. All right, again, there's a monetary objective that your boss or HR may have that could benefit you. So again, if they have a budget that they do need to spend, um, and/or risk losing it going into the new year, then you going and asking could be an opportunity for them to consider that and if, if earned and deserved, could, you know, award you that. At the same time, they're also in fourth quarter. They've also been very busy from a succession planning, team planning, people development planning, so they have the right people in the right seats going into the new year. And even filling, you know, available seats or even new seats that are being defined going into the new year. So again, you making your, your desire, your, your requests known, because again, they're not going to come and tap you on the shoulder and go, hey, you want to raise? Hey, you want a bonus? No. So you going and raising that up to your, to your boss could all, you know, kind of trigger the potential for you to kind of be rewarded or awarded that raise or bonus. There's also an added element that if you are a high potential, highly high contributor retention risk, meaning that if you weren't to get it, you might be at risk of leaving the company, and yet they want to hold on to your talent and your contribution and your skill. Then that's another reason to approach them with a, what I'll call a business case, as far as, you know, what the request you're making, the reasons that you feel that you've earned that request, the kind of with the evidence, with the facts to back it up, along with the importance of it to you and to your growth and your, you know, advancement. It's, it's a good opportunity and a good time for you to one, make them aware. At the same time, you're also dependent upon, you know, the collaboration. You're also gaining feedback because they might say, you know, we can't right now. You know, we've had to put, you know, the budget on hold, or we had to cut the budget, even that the budget that we already had this year, and we're really not spending until the new year. You can then further discussion to say, you know, what, um, what do you make of my request? Like, is my request valid? Do you see that there's, you know, um, reasons and justifications for me making this request? And they should be kind of inquiring if there is a risk in any way, shape, or form, um, that, you know, they could lose you should you not get this. At the same time, they have an opportunity to kind of strategize and think about, okay, well, we can't give it to them right now, but we can amp up the incentive should they just wait until January, February. And I need to make them aware of that right now just so we don't have any chance of risk for this individual. Um, so there's kind of a lot of, um, moving parts. And what you want to think about is not only of yourself and your request but you also want to think about what's in it for them. What's, what's in it for them actually agreeing with your request? Um, what is the impact to them should they not agree with it? And ensure that you work that into your discussion with them. And again, a lot to go into when— where that's concerned. So if you have any, you know, questions or, or interested in really kind of learning more and strategizing on how you can go about this, then feel free to reach out to me. Schedule some time at coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall, and we can have a discussion in regards to it. Okay, so that's really raises, bonuses, and even promotions. I would throw in promotions there. The thing I would add with promotions is also, again, they're looking to ensure that they have the right people in the right seats. And even they have kind of their high potential emerging leaders really taken care of and going into the new year strong, both personally, the, the employee, as well as the team and the business. So if you are one of those type of individuals, or maybe you're an up-and-comer and you haven't hit the emerging or the high potential yet, there's still a— this is a great time of year to grab some time from your boss, slash even HR, to really get some feedback as far as your contribution, your value, and your role and opportunities, your path within the organization. So promotion, raise, promotion, raise, or bonus all fall into those categories. December, keep moving, keep asking, um, and keep it, you know, really trying to gather as much information for yourself and make those requests. Ask. You don't get anything if you don't ask. And all you can— all you may land up getting when you ask is a yeah, or it's not the right time. And then you kind of move on from— not move on, you further discussion from there, and you get to a point where you're, um, kind of bought in on the reasoning, and/or that kind of tells you what maybe next step or what next inquiry you need to make, depending upon how the conversation goes. All right. Uh, the— okay, so then the next group of people, or the next, um, Step 1 might take is that they don't have a job and they're looking for jobs, and yet they're saying to themselves, do I really start, you know, continuing to bang out the, the resumes? And are people going to be taking, you know, interviews? And should I reach out to recruiters, or are they already kind of wrapping up and working on the candidates they already have and they're not spending time looking for new candidates? So all the above is you keep doing what you're doing. Keep sending those resumes, keep looking for— to secure interviews. If you want to engage a recruiter, keep contacting them and having conversations. If you know of people in your network or beyond your network to get, you know, introductions to and referrals to and references for, then just keep harvesting and keep working it. Because again, businesses and leaders are looking to complete their teams um, get the right people in the right place, hire who they need on board, even though they might not be doing any onboarding, um, or even you, you don't have a start date until January, uh, they still are looking this month to kind of close the books on their hiring, um, activity. So be sure that you're still doing what you need to do all the way through to the 1st of January. Many of them, and I actually learned this lesson in a whole different area, but I learned this lesson in 2020, uh, whereas, um, you know, I wouldn't compare, I wouldn't compare the pandemic, you know, 2020 year to the holiday time period, but I will in a small case, and that is the fact that I was thinking, you know, well, a lot of people really aren't doing much of anything, and this is actually from a screenwriting perspective. Um, and so, you know, all the film and, and, um, film and television was all shut down. You know, crews were sent, you know, home, and, and basically Hollywood kind of closed up shop. However, what I, you know, really didn't consider is the fact that there are a lot of people sitting at home twiddling their thumbs that could be reading scripts, my scripts. All right. Um, and yet I, you know, probably didn't realize that for 6 months, 9 months into 2020, and then I woke up. So my point for you would be that if you're, you know, again, if you're looking for a job, uh, don't consider that everybody, you know, shut it— shuttered their offices and their businesses, and that they aren't looking for people to fill jobs, people to, to advance into other positions, raises, bonuses, sales, the whole gamut. Now, many of you— the second part of this conversation I want to have is many of you are probably rolling your eyes saying, this woman doesn't even consider the fact that there's a recession coming. Um, oh, trust me, I hear about it every day from my clients. What I don't have them belabor is, one, is the recession real or not? And two, what are the negative impacts the recession is going to have on me? And so what I really mean by all that is I don't let them go down the trap of just looking at the ugly, the negative, the darkness of a potential, potential recession, very much like 2008, although that probably came out of the blue for the majority of us, right? But even then, um, I would not allow any of my prospects that I were meet— was meeting with, or the clients I was already working with. And this is roughly August of 2008. I'd been in business for about 8 months. I wouldn't let them talk about the negative side and the boo-hoo side and the woe is me side of the recession, because, you know, where there's a downturn, there's always upturns. So, and the same applies for even, um, you know, potential recessions that might be happening, uh, even though there are many layoffs going on now. Whether they're anticipatory for the upcoming potential, or they're just, you know, restructuring for the new year, or they're just a new leader coming in and wanting to shake things up. Who knows what the reasonings are for the— for individual companies, let alone the masses, to be pulling the trigger on layoffs. And unless you work for the company and know firsthand, don't sit at home and waste your energy creating all types of scenarios and more so dramatic negative scenarios about why. Just focus on the fact that yes, with a lot of layoffs puts more people on the street that may or may not be competing with you. At the same time, what it also does is it also opens up opportunities for maybe other areas of business you haven't considered, other skill sets that you haven't considered, other industries you haven't considered. So very much like the recession in 2008, as many jobs as was lost, they were also gained, yet just in a completely different sector, industry, function, so forth and so on. And, and, you know, yes, the industry or the economy shifted. But it shifted, opening up opportunities if an individual or a business was paying attention and recognizing that. And this was the coaching I was giving in 2008, was recognizing that, well, labor is going to come really inexpensively then with all these layoffs. We're going to be able to get labor cheaper, cheaper. Same with products and services and materials. Same with technology. We're going to, you know, be able to find newer, different talent, you know, based on kind of whatever, however we're pivoting and shifting as a result of the preplanning that people might be doing. Let's call it that, you know, if they, if they do see the ripple effect of a potential recession. But what I tell my individual clients, though, not teams or businesses, but my individual clients is don't go all of a sudden shutting down and breaking down and going dark for something that hasn't happened. And if you want to pre-plan and pre-strategize and anticipate and shift and make adjustments and pivot, great, let's strategize and talk about that. But don't go into this doom and gloom, woe is me, uh, I can't find a job, I can't ask for that raise, I can't get a promotion because of something that might happen. You live like that and nothing happens. You live like that and no progress is made. You live like that and you stay exactly where you are right now. And so, um, yes I am totally aware of the potential that might be coming down the road in, you know, 2023. But this is what I would also ask you: if you stopped doing anything, anything, and you just kind of threw up your hands in defeat to what might happen, what if it doesn't? Well, then your days, weeks, and even a year or so behind. And now you're massively stressed and overwhelmed, try and desperate trying to catch up. So put a plan together for whatever it is that you want. If it is that closing of that deal before the end of the, end of the month, if it is getting a new, you know, client logo on the books, whether it is getting a raise, bonus, promotion, new job, a new personal, a new personal goal or achievement. Just, it's, you know, whatever day of the month it is, in whatever part of the year it is, just put a plan together, look at it and say, okay, so, you know, what can I, what can I do? What are opportunities? Where can I stretch myself? What have I not considered? What is a total out-of-the-box you know, uh, creative step or thing that I could be doing differently, and just act on it. And, and kind of, you know, tune out all the other drama and all the other noise and crap, quite honestly, that is swirling around you. There's still huge, huge opportunities to finish this year out wrong, and it's only going to be you who are going to keep yourself from doing that. Okay, uh, let's see. Okay, so what, what else can you be doing if, you know, say it's beyond, um, wanting to close business, get a promotion, get a raise, get a new job? What else can you be doing to really finish the year off strong? Well, you know, I always love to use December I don't wait till January. I love to use December, especially as it does wind down. I'm still— I have a track of all the, you know, I have those notes out to my clients and prospects. Hey, what business can we close before the end of the month? And I have the, you know, the, the contracts, you know, ready to go, um, should they say yes. At the same time, I'm also looking at, okay, so what can I be doing to Close out the year by looking back, doing assessments, and I'll drill into that a little bit more. And then what could I be putting into place right now for the new year? Because I don't want to wait until— like many companies do— I don't want to wait until like January 15th, February, or March to get my plans in place. And now there's a lot of dynamics behind that and reasons for that happening, um, but at the same time, what I at least will coach my individual clients and teams around is get a jump on it. Get a jump on while you're— you are actively trying to close out business still, you're also looking to close out the year. So you can all of a sudden pull out your, your plans that you have this year, business plans, financial plans, your, you know, written down goals and objectives and measurements. And see where you are. See how you've done. Hopefully you've done this periodically throughout the year. You don't just wait until, you know, beginning of year, midterm, and then the end of year. You actually are doing it. If you're an entrepreneur, you should be doing it monthly, obviously. If you're in the— in corporate, you should be evaluating and assessing yourself, you know, even on a quarterly basis. And oftentimes what I actually coach my clients around is keep track and be really assessing yourself and the accomplishments, accomplishments you've made, the challenges that you've had, the successes and the misses that have gone on. And, you know, start documenting that and tracking that all through the year, not just when you have to sit down and do your performance reviews. Do it all year long because you'll never in December or January remember what happened in February or March of the year before unless it was really big. And yet a lot of where I see my clients getting the promotions and getting the advancements and getting the raises is due to the small successes, the small accountabilities, the small— okay, something, you know, went astray, but yet, you know, they were able to, to adjust and pivot and make it successful. Uh, and again, a lot of those— majority of those will be missed if you're not paying attention and actually documenting and tracking them throughout the year. So revisit your original goals and objectives and look at where you stand, not just your financials, but even the personal and professional development goals and objectives. Not only work, but also outside of work goals and objectives.. And I would hope you have, you know, goals and objectives around all of them, though you'll often hear me say no more than 3, and I do stand by that. At the same time, those 3 don't always have to be just about business. They could be about your spirituality, your health, your self-care, your finances, your relationships, your social life, you know, your personal, you know, Knowing as well as then business-wise, whether it is met like hard metrics, revenue, profit, budget on time, or it's soft skill, leadership development type of skills should always have goals and measurements around them. Okay, so go back and revisit them. And obviously, if you are in a sales role, whether for corporate or from an entrepreneurial perspective, You'll definitely want to kind of look at your account plan that you had this year, uh, look to see what worked, what didn't work. Look to see, um, what, uh, areas or what sectors or industries or client types that, you know, you either really leveraged this year and/or you missed the opportunity, and/or maybe there's a new opportunity coming on the, on the horizon, and therefore make it— start making adjustments as you're accounting for this past year, make adjustments for next year and start finalizing on your account plan. And then, of course, you know, once— let's assume you've done that and you're— you've looked at your plans, you've made adjustments, you're starting to look at what you want to be doing next year. You're nailing down those specific goals, those measurements, those actions, those deliverables, those timelines. Start acting on them. You know, if you're going to take time off, take time off. So don't get me wrong, I'm, you know, I'm not an advocate of— if you, you know, choose to take, you know, real holiday, real vacation, take it. Leave your computer at home, you know, take, you know, take off your notifications on your phone, whatever you have to do to have that downtime. Family, you know, family and personal time and self-care are just too critical, uh, for you not to. Okay, uh, but, but should you be kind of, uh, half working, half not, uh, you know, some of those things that you could be actually pulling the trigger on even though it's not January 1st yet, you know, you could get a jump start and then you could feel that much better as you go into the new year. And I actually love doing that because I'm typically back A few days before the new year from family vacation, of which I would say I'm 98% tuned out. I've set expectations with my clients, which actually you should be doing too, whether you're a corporate or entrepreneur. You should set expectations with those who are critical to knowing what your plans are. If you're off, you tell them, I'm off. I'm not gonna be able to be reached. I have some clients that are really good at that and some that really need a lot of work on that. I'm kind of more on I'm really good at it, but you know, there's a couple of things, a couple of situations that if they were to perk— like if I get a 911, I use 911s with my clients, which means if you really need me and it's something that has to be addressed right now, then just text me like 911 or must talk and I will. But if you don't and you don't kind of put a, um, uh, put a status of critical on it, I might text you back saying, is this a priority for today or can it wait until I'm back in the office? I don't automatically just say, you know, or ignore, um, any, any, anything that might come out to me. Uh, unless I see— and I can tell like in an email if it's just something, a question, and it's something that doesn't have a priority on it. So manage your clients as well. Um, but okay, so where was I? So, you know, use it to kind of get organized and put those things in place for yourself in any of those, those days that you might have some off-time, work time, catch-up time, admin time. That kind of thing. Oh, I should mention, since I'm— I have it up, I, I was asked about this a couple weeks ago. Uh, we have new mugs, and actually there's even a newer one coming up, but we have new mugs for our new branded show, Shedding the Corporate Bitch. And so should you, uh, want a mug, then right now just, uh, leave a comment or DM me directly, and, uh, we can make sure that that gets ordered for you. Uh, but they will be up on our site in the— by the new year. All right, excuse me, I have a little thing in my throat. Okay, so continue taking action. Act, act, act. Uh, and then for those of you, uh, because I'm taking this beyond the goals and your plans and even your account planning, you know, even going into the new year. For those of you who do manage teams entrepreneurially or corporately, if you do manage teams, go and do that. And maybe you didn't necessarily go through a formal succession planning or team, team performance planning and restructuring, but go ahead and do that for yourself. Make sure you have the right people in the right seats when you go into the new year. And if you don't, then come up with a plan for how that needs to be changed and updated and restructured. Um, so I didn't want to forget mentioning that as well. Um, let's see. Excuse me. And, um, oh, and then as we've been talking about closing out the year, assessing this past year, um, evaluating what worked, what didn't work,. And then as you go into, you know, planning for the new year, also be sure that part of that, let's call it a post-assessment, looking back and doing an assessment on, on the past year, ensure that you're involving the people that were involved in your year because it's not just about you, right? Your team members, your employees, were, were involved there. And therefore, where do they think, you know, the team was successful, the team needs further development or further work, or what projects, you know, went off with a bang, or what projects needed more support and more help. So include your employees, include your clients, go to your clients and start kind of assessing yourself, your team, the business. As far as, you know, what do they need? What do you need to be doing differently? What should you continue doing and providing them? And these can be internal clients or external clients. So be sure that you're also reaching out to them as part of your assessment. My personal specific goals, and you know, whether it is fitness, health, spirituality, finance, career, love life, relationships, social life. And how did I do? What— and what kind of growth did I have? But where am I still struggling that I, I should start really thinking about and considering what kind of support I need going into the new year and in the new year? So look, you know, look at a 360 of where you've been, what changes you would make, and what things you would leave just the same, or even enhance and enrich, and then kind of apply that all to your future plans. All right, so as I said, you know, closing out the year, um, is kind of a, a very deep type of, of, um subject, but I guess that's not the word I'm looking for. More like opportunity for yourself, whether you have 3 days left or you have 3 weeks left or 3 months left. But we are talking about closing out December, so until that bell rings into the new year, consider the opportunity to achieve what it is that you've laid out, or maybe you've revised it and adjusted it. But don't stop taking action unless you're going to a beach with margarita in your hand. But don't stop. There's tons, um, of opportunities just out there waiting for you if you continue taking action and doing the things that will move you, move you forward. Should you want to have a conversation, discuss your past year, discuss upcoming and you just want some tips and advice and strategies around doing that, then feel free to book some free time with me. Go to coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall and let's, let's get you ready for a new year. Let's kind of hear about what's gone on this past year and let's become powerhouse leaders together. All right. So until next time, I'll talk to you soon. Bye.