here are now only hours instead of days left in 2019, and we should all be looking back on the year. We can and should celebrate our successes, but we should also examine the areas where we weren’t successful; looking closely at what we can learn. That’s important for everyone – businesses and individuals.
For Cornerstone, 2019 ended up being a year of major growth in most every way. We learned more than ever; we grew in confidence; we grew in recognition; we saw relationships with many clients develop into a solid bond of trust; and we were more profitable than ever thanks to an increase in job volume and size.
2019: Lessons We Learned
- When it comes to new processes you have implemented, stay the course. Don’t abandon the process in favor of a new one just because a few problems arise. Instead, make note of the problem areas and tweak the process until it works.
- Take time to reflect on each job you do for a customer. Make thorough notes regarding what worked well and what didn’t. Share and use that knowledge for the next job. Each new job is an opportunity to identify ways to improve.
- Examine the way you communicate. If you tend to assume that others understand what you’re telling them, stop assuming and become detailed in your explanations and instructions.
- Stay ahead of the curve. Sometimes you fall behind on a task because you assume others are too busy to help you with something you don’t know how to do. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’ll have to ask eventually anyway, so don’t wait until things get out of control.
- Accountability is a key to success, so embrace it and don’t fear it. Whether you’re the CEO or a brand new team member, it’s far too easy to give yourself a pass on things that you’d prefer to put off. Someone else following up on your progress will keep you on track.
2019: The Year Of Improvement
2019 was a year of improvement, due mainly to examining these lessons, as well as other ones we learned the year before. Some of them have already led to positive changes.
For instance: To address accountability, we hired a process improvement strategist to specifically track job efficiency/effectiveness, response time, task management and more.
We also implemented more training in recent months, with a forty hour HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) course, with an emphasis on successfully handling large commercial disasters containing hazardous materials.
2019: Our Team Grew
Finally, we hired more project managers to handle the increased work load we have experienced in this year. We intend to keep the momentum going in 2020.
Constant reflection has resulted in great changes for us, and we’re excited to see the difference it will make in 2020. Happy New Year!
