The Creative CEO

How one creative CEO got it together with a "Business Resolution."

Get your coffee.

A new year to many symbolizes positive change: out with the old, in with the new. The new year is also a proverbial “nudge” to make commitments or promises to ourselves to improve our life in the form of a New Year’s resolution. However, only a small percentage of people keep their New Year’s resolution every year. These one time, yearly promises are a lot like having kids- fun to make, but not always fun to maintain. What if we were to treat our resolutions like our business plans?

Make a business resolution this year.

One CEO of a small manufacturing business took the New Year’s resolution to whole new level. He himself struggled with New Year’s resolutions year after year- failing to sustain them in anyway. One year after an annual September planning session, it dawned on him that the same process used in business planning could be used in sticking to a New Year’s resolution. Set the goal, create buy-in, measure ROI, have a plan for execution and measure progress.

He called a leadership meeting and asked all his Managers to make New Year’s resolutions for their departments- in June. Managers had 60 days to collaborate with their teams and come up with one New Year’s resolution that if implemented and sustained would have a significant positive impact on their team and their business. There were some hard requirements, a unanimous vote amongst the team on choosing a resolution and it had to be of personal benefit to the individual as well as the business.

He tasked his managers with the following

-Announce the resolution at the September planning session.
-Present a plan by Thanksgiving. The plan had to include a return on the investment (benefits) of time/resources, plan of tactics/execution and a form of measurement.
-Dec 1 began a company wide countdown similar to a kid’s Christmas countdown.
-Jan 1 Implementation began and success measured monthly until June and the process would begin again.
-The initiative began and ended in June for two reasons:

To allow enough time to decide on what would have the highest impact that could be appropriately measured. By the 6 month- the “new way” was likely to have become habitual
There were rewards for teams who managed to keep the change in place the longest as well as for teams whose change had the most significant impact (ROI).

The plans were simple, one page documents yet well thought out. Resolutions varied from team wellness to quality control and all had individual personal benefit weaved in. For example, one team wanted to be more healthy and they measured success by departmental sick days. Their plan included healthy lunch choices, group exercise and stress management techniques that resulted in the reduction of sick days by 10%. While the ROI to the business was great, the upside is the benefit to the individuals. People in that department reported having more energy, some lost weight, and most said they incorporated these habits at home too. In a few short months, one of the team leads said his blood pressure improved so much his doctor lowered his dosage of blood pressure medicine. Overall, the people in the department formed new healthier habits at work that resulted in less sick days the first half of the year.

Another team found research that showed practicing mindfulness increases work quality. Their resolution was to decrease data entry errors that costed the company thousands of dollars a year with the practice of mindfulness. They came up with a plan that included learning meditation, periodic audio signals in the department to reminded people to be present in the task at hand, and continuous learning of mindfulness techniques that were incorporated into the workday. Within the first quarter the team reduced data entry mistakes 75%. The second quarter 90%.

New habits were formed that not only benefited the work, but more importantly the individual! In this particular department, all reported less stress and anxiety caused by their jobs. Many reported personal benefits including short term memory improvement. They were more likely to remember where they put their keys, remember people’s names and dates if they were mindful and present during a routine task; similar to what they had been doing at work. The resolutions forced new habits that created positive change at many levels.

This CEO used the old tradition of New year’s resolutions to do what all great leaders do: invest in the development of people, provide a way to success, and facilitate teamwork. He embodied the term “think outside of the box” to facilitate real change and make significant progress in every department. Most CEOs struggle to create positive change and make progress in just ONE department. What a great use of innovation in common everyday life and work challenges.

Needless to say, the company’s New Year’s resolution initiative increased profitability by 6% that year and since that first year, employee turnover significantly decreased to the tune of 20%! There could be an argument on either side that this created happier employees who are less likely to leave jobs or happier work environments which are more likely to retain staff; perhaps both. Whichever side is argued, the results can’t be.