I read a newspaper story about a young man named Michael Walton who was raging against the community college dean over remedial skills test. He was a self-proclaimed math whiz because he aced his high school math courses and could balance his own checkbook.

Certainly, having accomplishments in each of these areas each year isn't mandatory to grow. With your business coach or other trusted advisor, determine which ones make the most sense for the current stage of your business and where you want to grow in the coming year. Those are decisions you make.

You need to make time for reflection. You need to spend time building extra capacity, by focusing on business systems and staff development. You need to think bigger and further into the future.

Hearing someone talk about goals in simple terms was (and in some cases continues to be) like hearing fingernails scraping against a chalkboard.

Think about what helped you launch your business. What's been behind its growth? What's helped you meet new clients and serve them well? What's been instrumental in your decision-making and risk management?