Business Spring Break – Is it Your March Madness?
It’s that time of year again, that time when all of the college basketball fans go nuts, and the time when families enjoy the traditional spring break trips. While COVID killed last year’s fun, things are a little more available this year, whether you are travelling or just planning to enjoy the games that we missed last year.
So what about your business – what can spring break mean for you as a business owner? There are certainly some parallels I can think of, so let’s discuss a few. If we look at March Madness, it’s all about whoever scores the most point wins, right? Well maybe it’s time to look at your business’s scoreboard, and see how you are doing? Are you winning? It’s also the end of the first quarter of a four quarter game (business is just a big math game in the end). Then what is Spring Break? It’s a time for taking a deep breath, refreshing ourselves, and getting ready for a strong finish to the school year. Well how can we apply that to our business?
Keeping Score is what we do in a basketball game, and it is what we SHOULD do in our business. What are your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)? What are your supporting numbers/stats that indicate high levels of team performance? In basketball, we have assists, rebounds, points, shooting percentages, and steals as the positive KPIs. On the negative side we have turnovers and fouls and shooting percentages (sometimes positive, sometimes negative). If you have a dashboard (scorecard) for your business, now is a great time to look at the numbers at the high level, and also one level down to see how your team/business is performing.
Winning businesses and teams know their score, and regularly strategize (huddle, learn/teach, practice) on how score even higher. When was the last time you reviewed your own scorecard with your team? Now would be a great time to start the habit if you haven’t developed it already.
Rejuvenating or refreshing your business and your team is also a great way to end the winter and begin the springtime. Start with reviewing your results vs goals for the first quarter (you do have quarterly goals, right). What areas of your team and business need refreshing, or even a power wash? Spring break can also include spring cleaning, such as eliminating unprofitable product lines or inventory that isn’t moving. Make room for what is working well and sell off or close out what isn’t (knowing your numbers helps here).
This is also a good time to refresh your relationship with key clients and your whole team. Spruce up the good feelings they have about you, learn what they want to do next, get involved in their growth plans. Take a step back, look at your business with a fresh set of eyes, maybe get a professional coach to help you do so. Spring break isn’t just about taking a week off, it’s about refreshing from the winter and preparing for the spring/summer season. Make plans to start off the new season strong!
If you don’t have a Scoreboard or you have one and don’t really know how to utilize it, or you just need a fresh take on your business, schedule your FREE 30 Minute Spring Break Business Review now. One of our coaches will help you decipher your Scoreboard and identify where you can do some freshening up. Schedule now here.
Author: Mark Mcnulty, Business Coach in Louisville, KY