Fast-forward 12 months.  The year is winding down and you’re reflecting on 2012.  The presidential election recently concluded and you are wondering if the new knuckleheads in Washington will continue to spin wheels and create even more chaos and uncertainty than the previous ones.   Who knows?

How quickly the year has flown.  You’re company has done OK, but there are several important objectives, including several important personal ones, that you just didn’t have time to achieve.  And you were SO busy.  You may even be exhausted.  You’re thinking to yourself, NEXT year will be different.  But will it?

During the last several months, I’ve visited with over one hundred of the most successful business owners in Texas.  I interviewed them about their success.  These are the private business CEOs that consistently win performance awards for rapid revenue growth, profitability, leadership, best workplaces, superior entrepreneurship, etc.  You’ve probably read about many of them in your local business journal or the pages of Inc. or Forbes.

When surveyed, the vast majority of these outstanding company builders reported a RECORD year in 2011, despite a lackluster economy.  Interestingly, most also reported a much LOWER level of stress than last year and said that they spent a much LARGER percentage of time doing things that they really loved, all while increasing their company valuation.   More profit, more vacation, more peace of mind…

Will this be YOUR story next year?

All of these successful CEOs and Presidents have unique businesses.   So how did they do it?

Instead of blaming the economy and worrying about things outside of their control, each took proactive responsibility for the beliefs and activities they could control, leading to remarkable results and personal freedom. 

Following is a summary of five simple Choices – Each of these outstanding owners chose to make UnConditional Commitments prior to starting their year:

They Committed to start with the End in Mind.   They developed a clear, inspirational Personal Vision.  They then developed a clear vision for their business (including a Succession Plan or Exit Strategy) that aligned perfectly with their Personal Vision.

They Committed to allocate sufficient Time for Themselves.  No matter how many fires were burning.

They Committed to Eliminate Mediocrity and Entitlement Mentality.  They raised their expectations and then raised everyone else’s expectations.  They insisted that their company would have the right people on the right seats on the bus.  Then they held everyone accountable to the new higher standards.

They Committed to have enough Capital to operate their business and execute their plans.

They Committed to use their time in the MOST effective way and used Delegation was a critical element of highly leveraged successful leadership.   They committed to proactively use a process to focus their precious time and energy on the true priorities, executing the essential, non-negotiable components of an effective CEO Job Description, described below:

They planned using an effective, flexible Private Business Operational Planning Tool.

They recurrently and consistently analyzed & improved Operational Health.

They recurrently and consistently analyzed & improved Financial Health.

They recurrently and consistently analyzed & improved Executive and Communication Blindspots.

They recurrently and consistently analyzed & improved Stakeholder Satisfaction, the leading indicator of future results.

They recurrently and consistently met with a professionally facilitated Board of CEO Peers.

They recurrently and consistently met with an experienced Accountability Partner, to ensure effective execution on the commitments above.

If you think all of this is time consuming, think again.  These decisions are all massive time savers and stress removers.  Choosing to take responsibility for behaving like an effective business owner will help to generate improved results for your company and more freedom to spend time doing the things you love most.  

No magic, just choices. 

If you decide to model the Best of the Best business owners in Texas, but can use some help getting started, email me at joe@zthree.com and write FREEDOM in the subject line.    I’d love to hear from you.

Best Wishes for your Abundant Success and Prosperity in 2012.

Joe