Look in the Mirror

Take a moment to step outside yourself. Now, be honest with me here? If you could be your own boss, how would you rate your own performance in the last three months? Would you get a raise, a day off as a treat, or would a big and brawny security guy kindly escort you to the parking lot?

In order to be an effective marketer and a progressive human being for that matter, you have to take a breather and look in the mirror. What are you doing that's working and what can you do to improve?

See what it is you are actually doing in all your busy days running from meeting to meeting, answering calls, or a zillion emails. Are you remembering your goals or your MISSION? Have you sat down and actually taken the time to write out your goals and your mission?

I read somewhere once that you should give yourself a "Company Evaluation" every month to make note of your progress and see where you still need to tighten up your act. I made a similar format to the evaluation form used at one of my past jobs. I tried it on myself for a few months and it really helps you re-focus and remember what your overall VISION was in the first place. It also brings your strengths and weaknesses to the forefront! Try it out and rate yourself at the end of the month to see how you did.

Here's an example of how to do it. List your responsibilities and objectives and rate each one. 1 being the worst and 5 being the best:

Evaluation of The Sweet Tooth (Pastry company):

- Make an income of $3,000+ with orders for June: 2
- Develop a buzz about my company: 4
- Increase catering for events to at least 5 parties per month: 4
- Improve time management: 1
- Manage and build an effective team: 5

Pros: I did great with developing buzz, because of the press I received in the Daily News. Giving the editor free pies worked!

Cons: I was late for two important meetings, because of poor time management.

I like to write out the pros and cons of the overall performance as well. What did you do exceptionally well and why? What are the steps needed to make next months evaluation better? When you elaborate on your highs and lows?you can be your own coach to some extent. You can then set goals to make improvements instead of floating through each month with no direction. Having this on paper might help stop you from repeating the same destructive patterns. You might even want to get a folder or binder to keep them all in, so you can note your progress.

Break It Down:

_ Review your schedule a week in advance. (Sounds easy enough, but most of us rarely do this--even with Mr. Palm Pilot in our lives)

_ Break up big projects up into baby steps.

_ Delegate, Delegate, DELEGATE! There is always someone who can help you. Just master the art of picking the RIGHT person for the task.

_ Set deadlines for every task, no matter how small. Okay?I'll admit that I'm good for thinking something is a very small project and "a piece a cake", until 10 of those small pieces of cake pile up and make a big mess! So, set a deadline for the small project and get it outta the way!

_ Know your best times of day to work. (Are you a morning person or do you like burning the midnight oil?)

_ AND my favorite that I'm just getting the hang of:

LEARN HOW TO SAY NO! You can't please everybody.

Alright now?go shine up that mirror, take a nice long look, and let me know if you see the same reflection next month. Hopefully, you'll see someone on a whole other level! I'll be waiting to hear from ya...

Simone Kelly is author and founder of Gots To Have It, Marketing, a firm that specializes in marketing and empowering entrepreneurs with a series of workshops and networking events. Please view her company web sites here: http://www.gotstohaveit.com and http://www.giventakenetwork.org