As you begin the new year, I have a few questions;

1. During 2015, what went wrong that needs to stop?
2. During 2015, what didn’t happen that needs to start?
3. During 2015, what went right that needs to continue?

A colleague of mine, gave me this tool several years ago.  Its called, “Stop, Start, Continue.”  It provides a quick assessment of the current state and helps to shed light on potentials for the near term future state.  The current state – 2015 Year End.  The near term future state – 2016.  It helps to determine what needs to change, what needs to be created and implemented, and finally, what needs to continue.

For me, there are several items on my stop list for 2016.  Some of my “stop items” have to do with markets, some have to do with customers, while others have to do with suppliers, and in all honesty, some have to do with me.  In fact, at the end of this year, I have already enacted a few of the Stop Items on my list.  Over the years, I have come to understand that the “stop” behaviors and actions are the hardest and most difficult to institute.  There was a time about a decade ago, 2001-2004 to be exact, I had the determination to accomplish something that I truly believed was a business venture I was led to create.  After three years, I reached the stopping point, even after years of people telling me to stop.  When it was all over, although I had done it, and learned a lot from it, I realized I didn’t assess that Stop-Start-Continue decision point frequently enough to avoid excessive time, effort and expense.

Since 2004, at the end of each year, I perform my own Start, Stop and Continue.  This coming year, I will continue to deliver services in the areas of Leadership and Strategy, as well as Performance Improvement.  I will continue to leverage the successful approaches and techniques that have proven successful for my clients that I learned over time, and some even before I started this career on September 15, 1995.  I will continue delivering learning modules, classes and workshops in Leadership, Strategic Planning, Lean, Six Sigma, Quality, Project Management and other methods of organization transformation and improvement.  I will continue to collaborate with reliable partners, such as the IIE.  And also, continue to collaborate with trusted colleagues, like Fred Johnstone, Larry Aft and Dr. Elizabeth Cudney.

For the 2016 Start …  as you’re reading this, its clear, the Performance Excellence Associates website has started (paulodomirok.com).  I am moving forward and publishing much more material on the Theory of Affordability.  In February, the IE Magazine will carry an article on Affordability.  In March, the CRC Press division of Taylor and Francis Publishing will be publishing the book I’m writing, titled; “Affordability: the Integration of Value, Customer and Cost for Continuous Improvement”.  And, most importantly, I am adding several new clients to the list of 81 Organizations Served.

So now, you’ve probably heard enough about me … back to you;

1. What’s your ‘Stop’ list for 2016?
2. What’s your ‘Start’ list for 2016?
3. What’s your ‘Continue’ list for 2016?

Stops — Starts — Continues, they’re more than a list of resolutions … they’re commitments.

Thanks,

Paul