Getting your DUCKs in a row for 2023

Have you ever considered DUCKs to be your word of the year?
And yes, you read that right, ducks (but not the ones that quack 🐥)

It’s the start of the year, meaning there’s a lot of buzz online about setting the tone for the next 12 months. You may have even chosen a word to frame your intentions and goals.

But have you ever considered DUCKs to be your word of the year? And yes, you read that right, ducks. (but not the ones that quack 🐥.) Keeping all your ducks in a row is one of the truest cliches when the unexpected happens. So whether you have a sick day, a family emergency, you take a vacation, or you have a business pivot, with the right foundation, your business can handle whatever comes your way.

Here’s a quick checklist of key operational DUCKs to get in order for the year.

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D – Define your team roles.

The first step to getting your ducks in a row is clearly outlining what everyone on your team does and is responsible for.

With small teams, it’s easy for roles to overlap and lines to get blurred with who’s doing what. When your team knows what’s expected of them, handling the daily operations gets easier. They can show up for you, and as the CEO, you’ll better understand the support your team gives to your business (as well as where any gaps may be.)

U – Update active projects and tasks.

If you don’t already have a space where you track and manage project progress, that’s your first step.

But if you do, clear up any lingering tasks from the last year and map out the things to come. Having a space dedicated to project management takes the guesswork out of how things are getting done. You can set due dates, assign subtasks to your team, and collaborate all in one space. Our team uses Clickup to house our launches, SOPs, and general business operations.

C – Clear communication channels.

It’s impossible to manage and oversee communication with someone when you’ve got chats in emails, IG DMS, and text messages scattered. If you do nothing else today, implement a better tool for how you’re going to communicate with your team.

Our team uses Slack often because we can segment the conversations. When you have team members, you often talk to them about many different things. Slack allows you to create multiple channels where we can talk about specific things. For example, we have a marketing channel for just marketing, a launch channel for all things launch related; we have our team chat where we have general conversations and updates, etc.

If you want more tips on communications, check out this video.

K – KPI tracking.

This year, we don’t want to guess what’s working and not with our business. That’s where KPIs (key performance indicators) come in. The top of the year is a great time to outline how we define and measure success. No matter the role, every team member should have about 2-3 (at least) KPIs they’re consistently tracking and reporting.

KPIs are great because they give your team member more ownership of their role and how they add to the business’s success. They also help on a CEO level because you can get a bird’s eye view of the business without hovering and micromanaging.

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The new year is all about fresh starts and building on the year before. Let this be the year you have the systems in your business where your team can handle things without your needing to watch their every move constantly. To feel supported as a leader and have peace of mind that even when the unexpected happens, you already have safety nets to prevent things from falling through the cracks.

And if you’re ready for the real deal: for a coaching program with a supportive community, proven strategies, and templates for team management, team building, and creating your business operations foundation, we wanna see you inside of Grindaholics this year!

Our doors are now open 🥳 Submit your free application today.