COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
BUSINESS COMMENT
JANUARy 2022 • 13
Want better results in 2022?
Try planning only for the next 90 days
By Jessica Newhall
Clatsop Community College
Small Business Development Center
Happy New Year!
If you are anything like me, the change in cal-
endar from December to January has tradition-
ally offered a chance to turn a page on the past,
look to the horizon and think about what I want to
accomplish.
As a small business advisor who typically works
with clients in January to plan out the year ahead
with financial forecasts, business plans and market-
ing schedules — I now find that suggesting long-
range planning is usually met with blank stares or
resigned “planning is pointless” responses. It’s
understandable.
This seemingly never-ending roller coaster
of the pandemic coupled with serious workforce
shortages has created an environment where plan-
ning seems like an exercise in futility.
Yet, an absence of planning can lead to serious
challenges around cash flow management, reac-
tive marketing, poor supply chain management and
costly human resources decisions. It can also create
a feeling of inertia where one day blends into the
next without ever having a sense of accomplishment.
Recognizing the incredible importance of plan-
ning, I’ve been thinking critically about how to
tackle this during times of uncertainty.
Recently, an episode of an entrepreneurship pod-
cast I listen to — “Multiplier Mindset,” by Dan Sul-
livan, founder and president of The Strategic Coach
— came to mind. Sullivan’s focus is to teach busi-
ness owners how to maximize their potential in both
their personal and professional lives.
In the episode, he shares an exercise that he uses
with his clients to help them gain clarity and focus.
It’s perfect for these uncertain times because it
focuses on positive reinforcement and energiz-
ing oneself (or one’s organization) around 90-day
windows in which you evaluate performance and
set goals along four questions designed to:
• Celebrate recent successes
• Tap into what is exciting you right now
• Focus only on what things you are in
control of
• Identify short-term wins
Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to pre-
dict your future is to create it.” So, get started now
by creating the business and life you want.
Grab a pen and paper and spend the next 30
minutes with me thinking through the questions
that follow. You can choose to do your personal
goals or your organization’s or both (I encourage
doing them separately).
Question 1: Past 90 days — “Winning achieve-
ments? Looking back over the past quarter, what are
the things that make you the proudest about what
you have achieved?” (Sullivan)
Rather than identifying things you need to
change, which can be a negative mindset, this ques-
tion is designed to allow you to identify what has
been working so that you can instead replicate suc-
cess. This allows for positive reinforcement and can
be particularly useful in helping coach and motivate
staff and others around you.
Question 2: Right now — “What’s hot? When
you look at everything that’s going on today, which
areas of focus and progress are making you feel
most confident?” (Sullivan)
Working on your business in addition to work-
ing in your business is a daily practice. Each day
counts and we need to be able to move through our
Jessica Newhall
days with a sense of accomplishment. For business
owners, it’s also important to have a perspective of
what is happening outside the business that could
impact future success. What’s fun or trending?
What opportunities currently exist that you could be
taking advantage of?
Question 3: Next 90 days — “Bigger and Bet-
ter? Now, looking ahead at the next quarter, what
new things are giving you the greatest sense of
excitement?” (Sullivan)
Thinking about where you or your organization
want to be in three or five years can be almost para-
lyzing because it seems too far out. Instead, you can
think about what you are excited about and what is
energizing you in the short term!
Question 4: 90-day jumps — “What are the
five new ‘jumps’ you can now achieve that will
make your next 90 days a great quarter?” (Sullivan)
This is the goal setting portion of the exercise —
what are five achievable and measurable things that
you could accomplish in the next 90 days?
STUMPED? I RECOMMEND A QUICK WALK OR A WORKOUT TO
CLEAR yOUR HEAD. JUST A 15 TO 20 MINUTE BRISK WALK,
ESPECIALLy ON ONE OF OUR CHILLy WINTER DAyS, CAN SPARK
THE ENERGy yOU’LL WANT FOR THIS EXERCISE. I’M HERE TO
SUPPORT yOUR EFFORTS TO HAVE yOUR MOST SUCCESSFUL yEAR
yET AND WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HOW THIS EXERCISE WORKS FOR
yOU. PLEASE EMAIL ME TO SHARE yOUR THOUGHTS.
If you have spent five minutes writing out
responses to each question and then another 15 to
20 minutes reviewing, you will have created a very
useful roadmap for yourself and/or your business
— in under an hour!
It is worth stressing the importance of doing
this as a written exercise as it gives you some-
thing you can visually see, creates accountability
and generates a written record to refer to when you
need additional focus, clarity and energy.
Then, in another 90 days, or whenever you feel
you need a boost, you can repeat the process.
Stumped? I recommend a quick walk or a
workout to clear your head. Just a 15 to 20 min-
ute brisk walk, especially on one of our chilly win-
ter days, can spark the energy you’ll want for this
exercise.
I’m here to support your efforts to have your
most successful year yet and would love to hear
how this exercise works for you. Please email me to
share your thoughts.
Jessica Newhall is the associate director
and Small Business Management Program
manager for the Clatsop Community College
Small Business Development Center. She can
be reached at jnewhall@clatsopcc.edu
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