Ask questions
As you prepare for 2011, it will be important to keep any number of questions in mind. What those questions are will depend on your industry, your goals and your financial standing at the moment, but there are some questions that all businesses need to be asking right now. And those are: What is happening in your industry? Is it expanding or contracting? Is your company expanding or contracting? Where do you see your company in 2015? In 2020? Is your company in the right market? Is it in the right position in the market? What are the strengths and expertise that your company has that could be adapted to another market or product line? Where can you turn to think through your situation? Will your company be able to receive a large enough line of credit during the next year? Will you be able to fund your growth? How sustainable are the current demands? And, the great unknown, how will global events affect your company?
“Analyzing and determining what events in the global workplace impact you and how they impact you is important,” says Scott Yancey, senior manager of assurance services, BDO Seidman LLP. “For instance, there will be increased regulation for those companies that operate or sell near the Gulf of Mexico, just because of the failure of the oil spill. That’s something that used to be confined to one or two industries, but companies are going to have to start looking at things like that.”
With all that in mind, you will also need to think about innovation as much as ever. How will you move ideas from the collective mind of your company to the drawing board to the marketplace? Live in the present but remain focused on the future.
“Eyes on the future,” DeRocco says. “But remember the volatility of this market.”
