I am always surprised by the quarterly result of successful companies. A lot of successful companies relentlessly grow quarter on quarter. They strive for some targets, achieve them and then move on to higher, loftier targets. They don’t halt to take rest, they don’t brag too much, they don’t get tired, and they don’t give excuses. They do their best first and then better than the previous best the very next quarter. Companies seem indefatigable whereas we human beings are so complacent, so very complacent.
We, human beings, look for growth in the long term. And many times we just lose track of time. Time just flies by us and then we wonder -- oh the year is gone, oh I’ve been thinking on this for the past 6 years, oh 4 years of graduation are gone, blah blah.
Why don’t we start declaring our quarterly results?
Quarterly/ bi-quarterly appraisals at work can serve the same purpose as a quarterly result but in appraisals, you tend to bloat your achievement in the hunt for higher salary increment. So to avoid fudging data declare your quarterly result to yourself.
We make so many promises to ourselves or give so much hope to ourselves, but things fade into oblivion over time as we remain engulfed in our mundane routine. And even if promises/hopes ricochet, we are so good at deluding ourselves. We have excuses ready for our every failure, every lapse.
Treat yourself as a listed company. You, as the owner of the company, should be answerable to you as the stakeholder. When you are in the stakeholder's shoes question ruthlessly why you, the owner, are not performing well. Stop giving excuses to yourself and stop building castles in the air. Start declaring your quarterly results. In your quarterly result:
- Give next quarter’s forecast: Write down what you want to achieve in the next quarter.
- Give your quarterly profit/loss: Write down your successes and failures. Write down whether you are on right track to achieve your annual forecast or whether you need to do a change (forecast or action plan).
- Give your exceptional expenditure: Write down unforeseen blockers that caused a dent in your milestones/achievements.
You can jot down a few lines at the end of every week to build a repository of your activities that you can refer to and analyze later for declaring your quarterly result.
Am going to start writing my quarterly result. Are you?
PS: This post was originally posted on hoodasaurabh.blogspot.com