Now Christmas is almost upon us, it is time to start thinking about the coming year, and to set our goals. Whilst I realise many people find it hard to stop working even over the festive season, hopefully most people have a few days to sit back and relax. After all, taking time to plan things, is every bit as important as executing them, so a time for both reflection and for looking ahead is good for anyone.

Goals can be both personal and business orientated, after all for many business owners, the two are inextricably linked (the money generated by the business goes to paying for personal goals). But the single most important thing about setting goals, is writing them down. Until you write something down, a goal is really just a dream in your head, and therefore far less likely to actually come to fruition. However, once on paper, the goal suddenly becomes reality, and it becomes much clearer what needs to be done to make it happen.

Ideally the next step is then to find a trusted friend or business colleague to share your goals with, so that they can hold you accountable to achieving your targets. I have recently gone through this exact process with two business owners who I trust, and we have all set down our goals for our businesses. We will meet on a regular monthly basis to update each other as to what we have achieved, and can offer ideas and advice to each other as to how we can improve or change things.

So until next year, have a great break, a very Happy Christmas, and give yourself a chance to look to the future with optimism and purpose.

Back on my favourite subject this week, sport. What a great result for the England cricket side, showing once again the merits of creating a strong team. Everyone playing for each other, everyone clearly pleased for each other’s success, and having fun. It just shows how much can be achieved by creating a culture which supports this.

Interestingly the Australian team still shows a strong culture even in its demise. The opening batman (Katich) even though injured refused to let someone else take his place, stating it was “his job”, and therefore couldn’t let his team down. The wisdom of whether this made real sense or not in terms of the match is a different question, but the culture of responsibility and doing what is expected of you for the team is clearly still a big part of the Australian set up.

Many people (me included) have questioned whether the ego of Kevin Pieterson is really good for the English team, despite his undoubted talent. However, I detected a real change in attitude and general approach to the game and his team, which would seem to indicate that he has genuinely taken on the culture that is inherent throughout, and which clearly helps to make their “workplace” somewhere they all want to be.

So based on what we have already seen and heard from this series, what will be the outcome? Two teams with strong cultures, but the body language and what is being said is clearly by far the more positive in the England camp. As we all know, body language and words spoken can be very revealing, and at the moment Australia look and sound beaten. I expect England to go on and win at least 2 more, so 3 – 0 or perhaps even 4 – 0, who knows. Ever the optimist, but I can still dream!

Last week I wrote about the benefits of working with rather than against your “competition”. Right at the end of the article I touched on USPs, your Unique Selling Points, which should make you stand out from the crowd. It then occurred to me that there may be many people who are not only unaware of their USPs, but don’t understand the significance and importance of defining these.

So first of all, do you know what makes you unique? If you are not able to say “yes” to that question with conviction, you need to stop what you are doing and analyse your business until you do know what makes you different.

You see the power of your USP allows you to feel strong in relationships with “competitors”, because you are never in direct competition – you always have something different and better to offer. The second great advantage of having a clear USP is that it helps when you are planning your marketing strategy. It allows you to focus on specific target market niches, and it gives you something to say in your advertising materials. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it means you can differentiate yourself on price. Because your USPs should bring added value, you will be able to price your product or service higher than the competition, knowing that you can confidently justify this. Conversely if you do not have a USP, the only way in which you can compete is on price. So if you don’t want to fight over the scraps at the low margin end of the market, make sure you not only know, but publicise your USP widely.

BUT remember, people will quickly latch on to your ideas. So you will need to regularly modify and update it to keep at the front of the marketplace.