Vacation | The Barefoot Spirit

Don’t Let the Holidays Take Your Eye Off the Ball

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 18:00:37 +0000

You had some good momentum going toward the end of the year. But as the Holidays began to approach, you got increasingly put off with “call me after the Holidays,” or “I’ll be out of town ‘til after the first of the year.” Projects you’ve been working on all year have been put on hold. You yourself have taken a break and may have lost track of where you were with this person and that project. This time of year can be downright frustrating and confusing!

The new year seems to favor new projects. Who wants to go back and rehash old ones? You might say, “Hey, if they didn’t get closed by year end, it seems futile to resurrect them now.” We have faced this “holiday” problem for years. And yes, it’s always better to finish out your initiatives before the end of the year. We all feel the pressure to do so. But with so many other folks trying to complete their projects at the same time, the competition itself can put a drag on completion and cause you to miss that all important “holiday” deadline.

Here are some ways we have found to save the day and remove a little of the pressure, guilt, and frustration the Holidays can bring:

Calendar. Check your calendar for any meetings you may have had in October, November, and December. Re-acquaint yourself with the attendees, the goals for those meetings and the follow ups you and others have committed to. Reschedule with those folks for follow-ups now.
Call Log. A quick review of your call log will remind you of the conversations you had at year end. You will be able to quickly identify the ones that you still need to bring to a conclusion. Make a list and prioritize.
Email. We like to review our sent items, the ones that have yet to respond, or the ones where we were the last message in the chain. Schedule some time to piggy back on those sent items, include the chain of correspondence, and resume the discussion.
Make Appointments. After reviewing you calendars, calls and emails, and setting priorities, reach out early to set up appointments even if they are a month away. Just knowing you have taken action will relieve your anxiety.
Set Deadlines. Try to get all of last quarter’s business completed, cleared, or resolved by the end of the first quarter of the new year. You’ve done most of the ground work already in the fourth quarter, so why not capitalize on that “head start” in the new year?

Remember, January looks like a long month on the calendar, but consider that New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Day holidays take a bite out of January’s work weeks. Consider also that many use January to take a winter vacation. So, get going and set reasonable deadlines for yourself – and others! Pick up where you left off, keep your eye on the ball, and see some early home runs in the new year! It’s time to follow up or foul up. Happy New Year to you all!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Don’t Let the Holidays Take Your Eye Off the Ball appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

9 Steps to Achieving Your Goals for the New Year

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 15:31:40 +0000

As the current year winds down and we look forward to the New Year, start thinking about your annual goals. Don’t wait until the New Year is upon us. These last few weeks of December are a great time to identify what you want to achieve during the next year. Writing goals seems like a daunting task, but we have discovered a fun and easy way to get started:

List Your Achievements. How have you progressed so far? How many goals have you achieved this year? Reviewing your achievements is always encouraging because you can see the value in setting goals.
Identify Your Incomplete Goals. What goals did you set for this year that are yet to be achieved? Are they still relevant? If so, they need more time, so those are a great place to start your goal list for next year.
Write Your Annual Goals. What are the big goals you want to achieve for the New Year, for your business, your career, your health, and your education? Add those to the list of this year‘s goals that need more time. Now you have a core goal list.
Study the Year Ahead. Take a good look at a calendar with holidays and events already printed on it. This is the landscape of the New Year. This is the layout you can’t change, the one you must work within.
Set Your Deadlines. Break down your annual goals into achievable milestones to be completed before each 3-day holiday weekend and post them on the calendar. Make a list of the milestones for that period and keep it handy throughout the period as a reminder to keep you on track.
Set the Lead Times. Calculate how long it takes to prepare for any event. Look to see if there are there overlaps. By working backwards from the events, you will see when you must begin preparations.
Post the Must-Attend Dates. Identify the dates that you absolutely must attend, whether it’s at work or for a social affair. Those are the dates you can’t be on vacation.
Identify the Holiday Periods. When does school begin and end? Vacation spots are less crowded and often less costly when students return to school. When are the three-day weekends? These are great for short getaways. When are the key selling seasons? Some business people must plan months ahead to assure all is in place for essential selling seasons, and can take a break only after this essential work is completed.
Book Your Vacation. Now that you understand the fixed landscape of the coming year, when would be the ideal time for you to take your vacations? Buy your tickets now! You’ll get a better deal and you will have some hard dates by which to accomplish your goals. The rest of your work will fall in “magically” around your vacations.

By working with your goals on an actual calendar, you will be more likely to achieve them. When you discover the existing dated landscape that you must work within, you are setting yourself up for success. You will see the practicalities of the New Year and use it to your advantage. Your personal time-off rewards will be visible and your milestones will be more realistic.

You’ll be surprised how much you can achieve when you can see the end of the tunnel whether it’s a booked vacation or a three-day weekend. Nobody wants to come back to unfinished business and you won’t either. Be practical about your goals, the calendar, and your much-deserved rewards. Book your vacation now!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 9 Steps to Achieving Your Goals for the New Year appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Vacations Increase Creativity and Productivity

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:19:23 +0000

Some people have to be forced to take vacation. Some even feel guilty or “irresponsible.” Others rack up unused vacation time for its monetary value. Still others see honor in putting their job ahead of a timely break.

Whatever your reason for not taking regular vacations, it can’t measure up to the benefits you and your job receive when you put business aside and give yourself a rest.

Regular vacations not only give you and your people a healthy recharge, they actually help your business. A good policy is to make vacation mandatory and start with yourself.

Here are some suggestions we’ve discovered to get the most out of your vacation:

1. Take two weeks in a row. Long weekends are great, and they certainly break up the year, but an extended vacation is required to really wind down. After a week, you’re finally relaxed enough to start to really enjoy yourself. So do!

2. Put a buck on it. Plan the trip. Buy a ticket. Make reservations. The minute you do, you’ll know your vacation is going to happen. Even if its 6 months away, you are no longer working “indefinitely!”

3. Count down and prioritize your work. You only have so much time to get your work done before you leave. Decide what needs to be completed before you go and what can wait until you get back.

4. Make an announcement to your coworkers, customers and vendors. You will notice a new sense of urgency on the part of all who depend on you. People will be more willing to make accommodations to help you make your vacation date.

5. Spend a day or two at home. Decompress. Take a breath and realize that you are now going to do something different. It’s not what you leave; it’s what you return to. So straighten out your home office as well. The comfort of knowing you will return to a well-organized home front will be well worth it!

6. Go somewhere and stay put. Many folks like to see how many places they can see in a week or two. You may need a vacation just to recuperate from the wild, whirl wind tour. It not necessarily how much you see, it’s how much you relax.

7. Unplug – literally. Take at least a period of time to be unconnected. Get your eyes off the screen and your mind off work for several consecutive days. Focus on your new surroundings.

8. Watch your diet. Be careful not to over do it with food and drink. Why wake up with a headache and indigestion on your vacation? Give your body a break, too.

9. Get some exercise. Make it a point to walk or even hike if you are in shape. Get around on your feet as much as possible. Remember you are probably sitting most of the time at your job.

10. Read something positive. Try not to keep up with the world. It will go on just fine without you staying up on the latest crisis. You will hear about the really important things anyway.

11. Make a soft landing. Spend your last full day at home. Take some time to unpack and enjoy your pictures. Get caught up at your own pace before you go back to work.

You will increase your objectivity, focus, creativity, and production with a timely break. If you still have a hard time justifying your vacation, do it to benefit your job and your business. You’ll thank yourself for doing it!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Vacations Increase Creativity and Productivity appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.