{"id":4320,"date":"2024-01-07T22:26:12","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T04:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10043\/?p=4320"},"modified":"2024-07-17T09:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T15:30:53","slug":"at-your-business-enjoy-the-good-but-plan-for-even-better-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/at-your-business-enjoy-the-good-but-plan-for-even-better-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"At your business, enjoy the good but plan for even better 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in\u00a0The Tennessean<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hopefully 2023 was a good year for you.<\/p>\n

Whenever I\u2019ve had a good year, I\u2019m tempted to give myself a gentle pat on the back and celebrate.\u00a0 Business, health, personal\u2014nothing is easy.\u00a0 A good year is something to be proud of.<\/p>\n

But then I see it and my inner Debbie Downer clicks in.<\/p>\n

Like clockwork as the year winds down, I run across the line that throws everything off: \u201cPast performance does not guarantee future results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always in small print in the footnote of my retirement plan statement, it can turn a moment of celebration into a moment of trepidation.\u00a0 \u201cYou did great last year, but that doesn\u2019t mean you will do great this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

What a bummer!<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s true. New technologies, macro-economic cycles, life-events, aging, everything is in a constant state of flux. As the world changes year over year if you want to maintain or improve your lot in life you may have to change along with it.\u00a0 Sears, Kodak, Blockbuster\u2014the business world is full of examples of companies who had great past results only to miss the boat on future earnings.<\/p>\n

But wait a minute.<\/p>\n

Failing to change with the times isn\u2019t the only factor behind the \u201cPast performance does not guarantee future results\u201d warning.<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019ve never seen it in any financial disclosures, there\u2019s another statement that I always hear that seems to say the exact opposite: \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is true as well.\u00a0 If something\u2019s working well, why mess with it?<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s Tiger Woods’ golf swing or the original formula for Coca-Cola, fixing something that\u2019s not broken can be equally dangerous to future results.<\/p>\n

So, if you want to build on a good year, the trick is to decide what to tweak and what to double-down on.<\/p>\n

I think about this challenge for our technology consulting firm every January. \u00a0What levers do we need to pull and what levers should be left alone to keep our momentum going?\u00a0 How do we decide?<\/p>\n

To keep things simple, we make two lists.\u00a0 The \u201cain\u2019t broke don\u2019t fix it\u201d list and the \u201cneeds to change” list.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few of the \u201cain\u2019t broke don\u2019t fix it\u201d items we came up with for our company:<\/p>\n