Smart managers and business leaders know that there’s no such thing as finishing your work and sitting on your laurels. They know that it’s ultimately important to always keep advancing, to take your career to the next level and really guide the company or enterprise to new heights of success.

That’s not just blind ambition — there’s a lot of work that goes into this process. One task is to really keep evaluating goals, and making sure that you’re on track to reach your objectives.

So as fall turns into winter, and companies approach that vital fourth quarter, how do you take stock of your own situation and make sure that you’re on the right track? Here are some tips we found useful as an Ontario, California staffing business.

Take a Look at the Numbers

You may not have the entire year’s numbers, but acquire as much information as you can about quarters one, two and three. Try to project or extrapolate from these numbers, to understand what you’ll see at the end of the year. Then apply that knowledge to your evaluation of your personal goals, as well as those linked to the success of the firm.

Renovate Your Goals

Take a look at an original list of goals that you wrote down earlier in the year. In hindsight, were they or are they practical? Are there things that you know now that will allow you to fine-tune those goals to make them more realistic? If so, it’s a good idea to go ahead and do that. Altering and changing goals will allow you to meet the future confidently, to narrow the gap between ‘what should be’ and ‘what is.’

Seek Out Collaborative Input

Two heads are better than one, and sometimes, it takes a little outside objectivity to really be focused on goals in a realistic way. Ask peers or colleagues about outcomes. Pick their brains about what’s possible within the company, and what you’ve done over the past three quarters. Then take that valuable feedback and integrate it into your goals going forward.

Focus on the Now

In the last three quarters, have there been significant developments in the company? Has the company rolled out new products? If so, how are they doing? Has the company changed its structure or refocused itself toward specific market segments? If any of this is true, it needs to be reflected in how you refocus and re-evaluate your own work. You don’t want to be working off in a separate direction from what’s being done in core operations. That’s another reason to really look closely at things as fourth-quarter commences, and make sure your personal work is in line with the overall direction of the enterprise.

Gear Up For the Boom

In many industries, the fourth quarter is the ‘big game.’ There is an increase in demand in consumer markets, which puts more stress on companies. Prepare for that by ramping up operations to be able to handle higher demand and higher input, to really compete with others in the same markets.

For more about how to ‘win in business,’ keep an eye on Full Steam Staffing as we continue to talk about trends and best practices for our clients’ industries.