Your Annual Report

from Able Leader, January 2003

by Steve Kaye

Most people think about their future at this time of the year. They make resolutions. They set goals.

This is also a good time to think like a CEO. By that I mean, you should write an annual report on yourself.

Such a report will document highlights from the past year. Too often, we forget what we did. It will also help you identify what you need to work on to make the next year better. And you may enjoy discovering that you accomplished a lot, even during a difficult year.

To help you get started here are the topics that I covered in my report for the past year, along with some examples.

Personal
Describe the highlights of your personal life. What special events occurred? What did you accomplish? What happened to you?

For example, last year we took vacations in Sequoia National Forest (June) and in Zion and Bryce Canyons (August). Those are part of the good news. I'll add that we also had to work through our share of challenges. I'll defer from listing them, because we're supposed to publicize good stuff and hide bad stuff. But you need to describe both good and bad things that happened. After all, you want your report to be more than a fluffy holiday update like the ones you receive from relatives.

Business
What happened in your business (or your job)? What did you accomplish? What value did you add? How did you improve?

I divide this into two sections in my report, one about products that I created and one about my business. You may want to divide this into as many sections as appropriate for your work or business.

For example, under products, I produced a career planning workbook. It shows people how to put security in their future by taking charge of their careers. I also combined six chapbooks of poems into three books and then produced two more books of poems.

Under business, my achievements include:
* Conducted a Webinar (web based seminar) for ASTD
* Developed a workshop on The Power of Writing in a Journal
* Sold a program based entirely on reading poetry
* Bought an e-merchant account and set up a bookstore on my web site
* Set up a web site to sell the career planning workbook
* Published articles in many publications, including the Orange County Register

Professional Development
How did you grow as a professional? What happened to you professionally? For example, I'm pleased to report that the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Speakers Association named me their 2002 Member of the Year.

Purchases
What did you buy? What did you sell? For example, I bought two digital cameras (first a Nikon 2500 and then a Nikon 4500) and a Nikon film scanner (to capture slides taken over the past 35 years). I also sold my entire film-based camera system. I estimate that I have already saved over $1,000 on film and processing since this summer.

Wisdom
What did you learn? Capture the wisdom that you gained over the past year. What lessons did you learn? What changes did you make? For example, three of my favorite ideas are:

1) If you are especially productive in creating new things, you will reach a point where you have to forget what you have done so you can find new things.

2) Good things happen only when we provide the space and time for them to occur.

3) Your expectations will rise the more you create, which means that your tolerance must deepen.

Your Plans for Next Year
Use this section to describe what you want to accomplish and how you expect to do it. Be candid. Be optimistic. Be wise. Take time to map out the coming year. Then, review your plans at least every month to check on your progress and revise them. After all, the road ahead is filled with unknowns.

Have a wonderful year.

Key Point: Think like a CEO as your plan your year.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300