Christmas is a time to relax (and perform your own annual review) - Sunday Times

This hedgehog doesn’t curl up into a ball in December. I set out personal and business aims — then take stock 12 months later

t’s the last weekend before Christmas, so if you’re reading this with your feet up, work phone muted and laptop switched off, congratulations. Enjoy it; you’re far more organised than me. I’ve still got one big priority to sort before my holiday starts in earnest — a discipline and habit that has become essential to my business success. And, since Santa has been making a list and checking it twice, I heartily encourage you to do so, too.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve spent these December days carrying out my own review of the year — reflecting on whether the ambitions I set for myself last December have come to fruition — while also setting out my ambitions for the next year.

Once the festivities have subsided, I compile a two-page summary of my hopes, expectations and goals for the coming 12 months. I carry this document around with me everywhere — in print and digitally — like a motivational map guiding me through all the twists and turns to come.

I’m looking at this year’s memo as I write these words and, though the paper version is a little ragged and frayed around the ages, it has been perhaps the most valuable document in my briefcase throughout 2024, giving me inspiration every time I glance at it.

It’s got five sections: my “hedgehog” strategy, objectives for the year, guiding principles, a not-to-do list and holidays/activities.

The hedgehog strategy is a sentence of no more than 20 words that describes your purpose, competitive edge and how you’re going to make money. (It’s derived from Greek mythology in which the fox knows many things but the hedgehog triumphs because it knows one big thing.) The point at which those three intersect should be your personal mantra. You can read more about how to construct it in my 8 Secrets booklet, which can be downloaded from Business Leader.

Next, objectives. I normally have ten and never achieve them all. This year has been pretty good because I’ve got big ticks next to seven. These included HomeServe launching consumer finance in Europe; Checkatrade launching a consumer app and facilitating payment collection; Growth Partner investing in four new businesses; and Business Leader launching our membership offer. I continue to live in hope that one year I’ll tick all ten. Fingers crossed for 2025.

The guiding principles keep you on the right path and are bound to evolve year by year according to what you’ve learnt and experienced. The values you live and work by should inspire you to pursue growth in the right way.

My guiding principles for this past year included: ensuring we have great chief executives in every business; giving regular, honest and specific feedback; remembering I’m a chairman and investor, not a CEO; and discussing more before rushing to action. And I’ve made progress in all of these — although I’m still striving to perfect that last one!

On to the not-to-do list, which is as important to how your year will shape up as your objectives. There is a constant temptation to do too much, eagerly saying yes to new opportunities without really thinking them through. This is a particular problem for us entrepreneurs because we’re always tempted to take on too much and overcomplicate the model that we’ve set for ourselves in that hedgehog strategy.

If I had done one of these not-to-do lists in the earlier days of HomeServe, I might have stopped us getting into furniture warranties, major repairs for home insurers and smart home devices.

Then, finally, holidays and activities. Life is not all business, and it’s important to commit to some fun. This year, mine included doing two half-marathons for the first time, buying and using a Pilates reformer machine and a week-long bucket-list holiday in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

So, spend some time over the next few days and weeks thinking about your own memo. It will be invaluable for what lies ahead and, this time next year, when you’re clear about your achievements, you will be able to celebrate Christmas with even greater confidence.

Which is why I’ve not yet popped any champagne corks. Because doing that summary is just the start; reviewing it matters, too. That’s my last priority before I properly down tools, writing my two-page assessment of 2024, setting out what I achieved, the disappointments I experienced and, most importantly, what I learnt from both.

Sometimes the objectives you set for yourself will change throughout the year, depending on circumstance, so don’t hesitate to make amendments. But make it clear in the document how you’ve changed things; don’t just delete. Mark it up so you are reminded about the shifting priorities and why they matter. Otherwise, when you come to mark your own homework, you will be kidding yourself that you achieved everything.

My other recommendation is to read only one business book over the holidays, so it doesn’t detract from quality time with family and friends. I’ll be rereading the best-selling business book ever written, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which has sold more than 40 million copies since its first publication in 1989.

Covey empowers individuals to take control of their lives with his seven habits, which include being proactive and beginning with the end in mind. What better way to put this into practice than by having a two-pager to judge how you did, this time next year?

One last point: I’m always inspired at this time of year by those whose working lives continue as normal, no matter what day it is. For me, in particular, that means all those HomeServe plumbers and heating engineers around the world, working throughout Christmas and New Year to make sure that an unexpected leak or heating breakdown won’t spoil the holidays.

A toast to them and a toast to you. Have a great Christmas and do let me know what you’ve put on your list for 2025.

Richard Harpin is founder and chairman of HomeServe and Growth Partner, and owner of Business Leader