Medici Capital > Articles > Kick Start to 2007

Article By:

Frank Sirianni

Kick Start to 2007

Friday, 12 January 2007

Now that 2006 is over, let us look to 2007 to decide the outcomes for the coming year and beyond. Now is the time to set aside some time to analyse where you are, how you are going and what you still wish to achieve. This article hopes to assist you in understanding what you should be looking at.

As the New Year begins, you should be looking at 5 areas when setting your personal and professional goals:

Self analysis;
Assessment of your current position;
Analysis of the past year;
What the future holds; and
Formulating a plan.

It is important to note that each of these steps requires careful consideration and planning. It may also require additional consultancy to assist you in making the right decisions. While this article is not a difinative guide in goal setting, it is hoped that using this article can open your eyes to some new issues that you may not have previously considered when setting goals for 2007.

1. SELF ANALYSIS:

As part of your self analysis, you should ask yourself:

What is your success all about?
Who is responsible for your life and therefore your success?

It is important that before you consider goals setting or your current position, you take a look at yourself and ask what it is you really wish to achieve. Identify, with a clear mind, what you wish to achieve on a personal level.

Once you have identified what success means to you, acknowledge that you, and you alone, are capable of driving this success. This acknowledgement should be firm and conclusive so that you are prepared to do what is necessary to reach your successes.

2. ASSESSMENT OF YOUR CURRENT POSITION:

At this stage, undertake an overview of your pharmacy as a business and then reflect on where you stand with regards to your business. What are your current roles and responsibilities? How do you fit into the management and operation of the business and what are the effects of your input?

3. ANALYSIS OF THE PAST YEAR:

Take some time to analyse how things went in 2006. Look at both the good and the not so good and start to make a list of:

My Best Wins in 2006; and
My Biggest Disappointments in 2006.

Now, review this list and note possible ideas that you might want to address in 2007. These may be continuations of wins or strategies to avoid mistakes that have been made in the past.

4. WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS:

It is important to review the key factors that are shaping pharmacy when determining your own goals and those of your business. Remember the following issues:

Declining gross margins;
Increasing reliance on prescriptions; and
The changing landscape of generics.

Ensure that your goals are realistic and take into account the effects of these industry wide issues. (This is not a difinative list of pharmacy issues).

5. FORMULATING A PLAN:

Now you know:

1. What you are striving to achieve;
2. Where you are;
3. What worked/needs improvement from 2006; and
4. The future of pharmacy.

... and you can develop a plan.

Take into consideration what you need to do to get from where you are to what you want to achieve, add into this some actions from what you learned in 2006. Then, using the industry outlook, make your yearly objectives reasonable.

Given you have worked through these factors, you should be left with a plan that should assist you in taking a step towards your goals in 2007.

CONCLUSION:

Sense of Direction - Do I have goals and what I want to achieve in life?
Understanding - Do I understand myself and others?
Courage - Do I have the courage to take risks?
Charity - Do I give freely of my time, effort and money?
Esteem - Do I have a healthy self image/self esteem and enjoy what I do?
Self Confidence - Do I believe in myself?
Self Acceptance - Do I accept myself for who I am - my strengths and my weaknesses?

Setting goals is an important part of your personal and professional development. The magniture of change that consistent goal setting can deliver is remarkable - it creates an intensity of purpose.

Be careful to only share your goals with people who will be supportive of you. And take time on a regular basis throughout 2007 to identify whether or not you are on track with your goals. You should continually adjust to re-direct your actions towards your desired results.

Best wishes for a prosperous 2007 from all the team at Medici Capital.

TOOLS & OTHER REFERENCES:

www.medici.com.au
As a leading financial researcher in pharmacy, Medici Capital is in a unique position to provide industry outlooks for pharmacy and the health sector. Make use of our News and Articles sections on this website to see updates in Pharmacy developments.

express.medici.com.au
To guage where your business is at, Medici Capital has a range of business analysis tools. These tools, operating from Medici Express and from our offices, can analyse both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of your business to identify both positive aspects of your business as well as areas of concern. Then, in association with our consultants, you can set about a plan to address these areas of concern.

Services include:

Indicative Valuations:
Value your business on-line within 24 hours.
Market Assessments:
A valuation available on-line within 24 hours complete with qualitative and quantitative analysis. The equivalent of a broker/accountant valuation.
Market Watch:
Test the broker's ROI of a pharmacy with instant free results.
Benchmarks:
Find out limited benchmarks for pharmacy - do your figures comply with acceptable benchmarks.
Full Valuations:
Medici Capital's Full Valuation provides the benchmark of pharmacy valuations. Full analysis of your business using proven and supportable economic and statistical modelling.
Greenfield/Brownfield Valuations:
Medici Capital is the only valuer approved to conduct Greenfield/Brownfield Valuations. Contact Medici Capital for more information.

experts.medici.com.au
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