How did your team perform against their goals in the all-important first quarter?  Sales, production quality, cost efficiency, it really doesn’t matter: “you basically get what you reward!”

I’m rereading Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, some books really are timeless as it was published in 1989 and as of Sunday April 20, 2014 it remains in the Top 25 on the New York Times Bestseller list.  In his discussion of Habit #4, “Think Win/Win” he writes “Win/Win can only survive in an organization when systems support it. If you want to achieve the goals and reflect the values in your mission statement, then you need to align the reward system with these goals and values.”

So if your team fell short of their goals in the first quarter, and April isn’t turning it around, it isn’t necessarily time to send your accounting and finance team on a “reforecast assignment.” However, it may well be time to involve your entire management team in rethinking how you are incentivizing and rewarding the behaviors which will lead to achieving those goals.

I will have more from Covey in the next installment. I hope your business and personal year is continuing to go well and your New Year’s Resolutions are still intact!