My 2016 Balance Sheet

This is my fourth year writing my personal balance sheet as year end accounting. Here is how 2016 went.

Assets

In 2016, I treated time like the finite, non-renewable resource that it is. I wasted very little of it. I dedicated more time to my very highest priorities. There are still gains for me to make here, but I was extremely deliberate about where I invested my time.

I am not good at vacations, but I took two vacations this year. I also took a number of day trips with members of my family, something that isn’t easily done with our busy schedules.

I launched my first book, The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need. That book became a USA Today bestseller. It’s still doing very well on Amazon.com, and companies are starting to buy the book in bulk so they can provide it to their sales force.

I completed the writing of my second book, The Lost Art of Closing, which will be released by Portfolio on August 8, 2017. There is no book like this book for B2B salespeople, and it is going to change how we talk about commitment-gaining.

Another year of publishing daily here. Began publishing daily on YouTube.

I launched Iannarino.io, my online platform in October. The first three monthly modules are live (The Buying Cycle, Philosophy, and The New Cold Call). The number of subscribers grows daily, even though we have done very little to promote the platform.

I started a third business that opens on January 3, 2017 with my longtime business partner.

Debits

I didn’t always exercise the managerial will that I should have in all cases. I wasn’t firm enough on some non-negotiables, and my list of non-negotiables didn’t cover all the territory necessary.

In a number of cases, I didn’t act fast enough or wasn’t aggressive enough pursuing opportunities.

Launching Iannarino.io and The Only Sales Guide at the same time was poor strategic thinking, and confusing.

I started my book launch too early, and I started pursuing large companies too late (a mistake I don’t intend to repeat).

I didn’t free the teams I work with to make decisions independently, requiring my time and energy for things that would be handled by subject matter experts with autonomy to decide and create.

There is a reason I continue to take the time to write these personal accounting sheets; I don’t believe that any of us should ever consider ourselves “finished.” Success is built on continued effort. On continuing to learn as we go. These personal accountings are about being self-aware, and about a yearly self-assessment so that I can continue to fix the negatives and get better, year after year.