All too often we quote a PC or something only to have a client state, we can get that cheaper.
I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t wait around until the New Year to start pursuing your goals. I learned early on that it’s essential to have a concrete idea of where I want to be in life and to make consistent efforts to get there. That being said, I know that many New Year’s resolutions actually succeed, despite the odds. New Year’s resolutions provide a crash course in goal setting, and they’re an ideal starting point to make a change.
But for me, big goals have pretty much always been a central guiding force. Every three years, I take a few weeks to construct an array of objectives for the following three years. I carefully outline my objectives and try to paint a realistic picture of what I want my surroundings to look like when the plan is finished. An important step is writing everything down. When you put pen to paper and really consider what matters to you, it becomes more real and it sticks in your mind more effectively.
Then, I break that broad vision down into manageable components, separated into yearly, quarterly, and monthly chunks. It all comes down to those precise things I’ll need to do in order to realize that three-year plan to the best of my ability. Then, once I start on that path, I’ll keep the same plan for the entire three years, tweaking it here and there, updating, and focusing in on the nitty-gritty details.
Dec. 31, 2017 signaled the close of my last set of objectives. It encompassed everything from saving for the fast-approaching time when my kids start to head off to college to maintaining my physical and mental health to spending more time with my wife and kids. It’s always eye-opening to look back and see where I’ve succeeded and where I still need improvement. While I think I did well getting into shape, sleeping well, eating healthy, and engaging in some regular prayer and meditation, I’m not so sure that I made as much time as I’d hoped for my family. Though I know I’m far from neglectful or anything like that, it’s just so difficult to find family time in the midst of a growing business, a bajillion activities the kids are always involved in, homework, and all the other things that get in the way.
As we move into 2018, I’m a little late on the draw, as I’m still setting up my three-year plan that will carry me into 2020. But for sure, I’m going to make a more concerted effort to spend individual time with the people who matter most to me. Professionally, I also hope to drive MicroTech forward, and not just in terms of numbers, clientele, and revenue. I hope to improve how it feels for each of us to come to work and to change the culture of IT for the better.
It’s clear that there’s a lot to anticipate in the coming years, but there’s also a lot of work to be done. Right now, I’m looking forward to it all.
–Randy Amorebieta, President of MicroTech Systems
