Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to plan
Speaker 1: your fourth quarter strategy. Whatever the year has looked like
Speaker 1: so far, and let's just say it might have been challenging,
Speaker 1: you can do a lot with a concentrated fourth quarter push.
Speaker 1: I'm first publishing this episode on September thirtieth. For many
Speaker 1: of us, twenty twenty has been quite a year. It
Speaker 1: is now three quarters done. A lot of people have
Speaker 1: asked whether the year can be over with already, But
Speaker 1: it is a shame to wish time away. Life is
Speaker 1: limited as it is. Wishing time away is such a
Speaker 1: miserable bargain. Better to make the most of the time
Speaker 1: we have. The good news is that whatever the first
Speaker 1: part of this year has looked like, professionally or personally,
Speaker 1: there is still enough time to rescue the narrative. Three
Speaker 1: months is enough to do grand things. The key is
Speaker 1: to choose a limited number of things that really matter
Speaker 1: and then go all in on getting them done. For instance,
Speaker 1: maybe your business, like so many businesses, has seen clients
Speaker 1: disappear or revenues drop. By focusing your fourth quarter on
Speaker 1: finding new clients or suggesting projects to existing clients that
Speaker 1: meet their new needs, you could quite likely end the
Speaker 1: year with some big wins. This is great for an
Speaker 1: annual review. Stuff that happens in October tends to seem
Speaker 1: bigger than stuff that happens in February. But it's also
Speaker 1: good for one's sanity. Everyone loves success. Or maybe you've
Speaker 1: needed to make a career pivot. If you've decided to
Speaker 1: go back to school, the next three months are an
Speaker 1: opportunity to choose a program and apply. Maybe you'd be
Speaker 1: able to start and Jaimanuary if not before. If you
Speaker 1: want to learn a new skill, plenty of programs take
Speaker 1: a few weekends or a couple nights a week for
Speaker 1: a month or so. My ten year old actually got
Speaker 1: his SCOPA certification this year doing a weekend program earlier
Speaker 1: in the year, some coursework, and a weekend program this fall.
Speaker 1: You could learn first aid, or how to do certain
Speaker 1: repair jobs, or just about anything you can think of.
Speaker 1: You can also take any extra capacity you might have
Speaker 1: if work is slow, and put it towards starting an
Speaker 1: internal networking or resource group. How about a support group
Speaker 1: for parents or for people with your particular background. You
Speaker 1: could schedule a series of lunchtime sessions and virtual networking
Speaker 1: groups and end the year with a far more robust
Speaker 1: network and cement your reputation as a leader. If you'd
Speaker 1: like to be promoted next year, that's a great thing
Speaker 1: for people to be thinking this year. Of course, you
Speaker 1: can create a fourth quarter strategy at home too. Maybe
Speaker 1: you decide to eat healthier lunches for the next ninety days.
Speaker 1: You commit to getting ten thousand steps on five days
Speaker 1: a week for the next three months. You commit to
Speaker 1: calling a particular family member every week. All of these
Speaker 1: will create a lot of positive change. Really, it can
Speaker 1: be anything, but choosing something that matters to you and
Speaker 1: doing it consistently for the next ninety days will lead
Speaker 1: to something. I can't say for sure what life surprises us.
Speaker 1: Sometimes twenty twenty has definitely taught us that, But it
Speaker 1: will lead to something, and of such serendipity comes success.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, This is Laura, thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New
Speaker 1: Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.