We are literally just back from our annual goals and objectives retreat, and this year it went far more smoothly than I would have suspected. Every year we take some sort of trip, or isolate ourselves in some way to spend uninterrupted time crafting our goals and objectives for the coming year.
We deviated slightly from the way we have done goals in prior years, in that we stepped up the organization of the planning to comport with key elements in running the business. Before, we have always looked at our goals as a sort of shopping list for our dreams. We created a list of what seemed lovely at the time, and then crafted objectives that would help us to realize those dreams. That has been great, but in the past couple of years, we noticed that by the summer, we largely couldn't imagine why we felt so strongly about the goals that we had identified six months earlier. So what was going wrong?
I don't think there was a particular issue with the quality of our goals, but rather that they were like a Christmas list to Santa. All our goals were lovely, and would be wonderful if achieved, but they weren't alway key to the growth of the business. So, while it would be wonderful to attend an art fair in Barcelona, would spending the time and effort to exhibit abroad move the needle for our profits this year? We had lovely goals, but they didn't always seem to work together toward a clearly measurable success.
This year, our goals were based instead on several pillars of good business management. We've grouped our ideas considering the need to create and maintain plans around production, prospecting, promotion, productivity and profit. There were two goals that were new to us this year. One was the need to craft strategy around the creation of our new company in Romania, and the second addressed the birth of our new nonprofit corporation Aripa Arte. While both are related, each of those undertakings have unique needs, and will require us to spend some time and effort planning for their success.
_______________________________
“Art Life with John & Bogdan” is a weekly blog/vlog/podcast that creates a community, a conversation, between creatives in all sorts of fields at all sorts of levels. We want to discuss what we’re learning, what we’ve experienced, and whom we’ve met in our journey of running a freelance creative business. John Bishop is a visual artist living in Houston, Texas. His work is largely abstract, and explores how to turn mythic, archetypal symbols into individual experiences allowing us to see them in a new way, with fresh eyes. Bogdan is a videographer and fine art photographer who constantly seeks to stretch the boundaries of traditional photographic work, with the added flare of his artistic eye. Both artists’ work can be seen online, or at their studios at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards Street, in Houston.
John Bishop: http://www.johnbishopfineart.com
Bogdan Mihai: http://www.bogdanfotoart.com
Bogdan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogdanoninstagram/
John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnbishopfineart/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnBishopart
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnbishopfineart
Buburuza Productions: http://www.Buburuzaproductions.com
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.