The Power of Introspection

You are already aware of the importance of having Vision, Strategy, Goals and Plans for your business. Check. And you know that you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Check.

But measurements and reviews require something more. Without Introspection, they are just numbers.

Introspection is self-examination. What are your beliefs, your biases, and your emotions around the behaviors of others or around the speed and quality of goal achievement? What about your own behaviors? How do you deal with failures, large or small? Even more importantly, how do you handle success?

Here’s a simple effective process for learning from your experiences – and from your numbers- through introspection and reflection.

Compare performance to your goals. Identify your progress to help build and maintain confidence. As a business owner, that’s your biggest responsibility – remaining confident. Take note of where you fell short of your goals – not to treat them as failures but as opportunities to learn and reset targets.

What worked? How can you apply this working model to other goals and other parts of your business and life?

What didn’t work, and Why? Sometimes the Why of this has in it the answers for a new and improved process next time.

What are you grateful for? Although included here as part of a performance review, gratitude exercises are important on a daily basis. Take a few seconds each morning before you jump out of bed to reflect on three things you are grateful for and three things that make you excited to get up and start your day.

What have you learned from this review? And about yourself? Insights are invaluable and they only come through reflection and introspection. Focus on the cause and effect of the numbers but also take a look at what about them is most important to you from a values and beliefs perspective. Were some of those goals set because you thought that was “the thing to do”? How congruent were they with your beliefs and vision? What made you proud? What made you upset? How did you deal with issues throughout the review period and what effect did your own behaviors have on the outcome?

What actions are necessary before the next review? Having gone through the analysis process, you will find that this list is not necessarily what was in the original plan, so it’s not just more of the same old same old. Your introspection and reflection will have a big impact on whatever you choose as actions and goals for the coming period.

This process is about working ON your business, not just in it. And that’s what allows you to grow and achieve bigger goals year after year. Go for it!