The fix list

Every operator I know is already being asked the same question: "What are your goals for next year?"

Revenue targets. New products. New sites. New hires. Nothing wrong with any of that.

I'm tempted to respond with something lofty. But over the last few years, I've realised something: Before I write massive goals, I need to write a Fix List.

Not "what do I want to add?" But: "What am I done tolerating?"

Because the stuff you refuse to fix now just follows you into next year and quietly taxes every good idea you have.

How this showed up in my life/business.

A couple of years ago, we did the classic thing. Big planning session, some sharp-sounding goals, a coach in the room, everyone nodding. On the wall it looked impressive and we all felt like we bossed the shit out of an offsite session.

Underneath, there were a few obvious problems we'd been dragging along for months:

Tired locations, misaligned team, mediocre results, heaps of products that didn’t make money (but were supposedly good for the brand).

Instead of dealing with them, we layered new goals on top.

I’m sure you already know what happened… Those same problems kept soaking up time, energy and margin. New initiatives had to fight against old stupidity. 

By mid-year, a lot of our "stretch goals" were quietly dead because we were still stuck in the same mud.

There's some weird part of me that likes how that pain makes things finally click. In this case, finally realising that the most powerful thing you can do before a new year is not to add more. It's to decide what you're no longer willing to drag around.

That's your Fix List.

What a Fix List actually is

To save you months of figuring this out, it's not a brainstorming exercise. It's a short, brutal list of things you commit to either fixing properly or killing deliberately, in the next 3 - 12 months.

The test is simple. Ask yourself, if this were still here next Christmas, would I be furious with myself? If yes, it goes on the Fix List.

Some examples from my world: A product line that customers love but destroys margin. A clunky process that everyone complains about but "we've always done it this way". A role that's vague and keeps creating confusion. A piece of tech that sort of works but only with loads of training and specific knowledge.

You'll have your own versions.

The cost of not fixing it

What makes this mindset powerful is acknowledging the cost of not fixing.

We kept a loss-making product alive for ages because some customers loved them. When we finally killed it, I could almost hear our P&L sigh with relief.

None of our fixes were surprises. They were things we knew about and tolerated. That's the bit that stings. Most of what's hurting you or your business next year, you already know about today.

How to build your Fix List this week

This doesn't need a two-day offsite like we did. Grab a page and split it into four headings: People, Product, Process, and Personal.

Then ask yourself, quickly and honestly: 

What is obviously broken, messy or unclear here? 

What have I complained about the most this year?

What have my team or customers complained about most this year?

Write down everything that comes to mind. Stick it into those categories and don't overthink it.

Circle a maximum of 3 - 5 items that will give you the most bang for your effort over the next year. These are your real fixes for the next 12 months. 

How you know they're the right ones: You'd be genuinely angry about still facing next Christmas. 

Then, decide to actually move on it. Fix or kill. 

You’ll eventually need to give each fix a rough "owner" and a timeframe so you know who will lead it. But the key part of this is identifying and deciding. That’s the bit you can do before the end of the year. 

This is the bit about Fix before you scale that resonates with me the most.

Before you add more goals, more offers, more channels, more complexity, decide what you will no longer tolerate in your business or in yourself.

Write the Fix List. 

Share a version of it with your team. Let them see you're serious about cleaning up, not just stacking more weight onto a shaky structure.

That’s how you start winning in the new year. 

I hope this helps!