"Slow Start to the New Year"
The Business of Furniture - 12/21/16 Edition
Stephen Says Column

 Dear Stephen, 

 Thank god the holidays are finally over. I don’t know about you, but I spent far too much time with my family over the last two weeks. I do, however, understand that not everyone is as excited to get on with their lives and back to work as I am. This is the kernel of my issue. I am a Regional Manager for a major manufacturer and the next two to three months are always the hardest months for me. I am hoping you have some suggestions to make my life more pleasant. As you know, salespeople are only as good as their mood; nobody buys from salespeople who are gloomy. I find, invariably, that from right after New Years until the end of February, most of my salespeople’s numbers crash. I don’t know if it’s a chicken or egg thing, but I think it has to do with their mood. How do I incentivize my salespeople to pick up the pace, even when I am not feeling motivated myself. Sometimes, I think that the whole problem is with my mindset, and my lack of excitement rubbing off on them. We all face new sales goals every year and no one likes it. But this is something more. I also live in L.A., so I can tell you that the problem is not the weather (I used to live on the East Coast, but seasonal depression chased me west quickly). Have you ever heard of this beginning of the year slump, and how can I bring positive energy to my team and motivate them?
 

 Dear Prozac,

 
 There are a number of factors that contribute to a post–New Years’ lull in attitude and sometimes in sales. Which is to say that, yes, of course this is a real thing! 
 
 A main culprit that I have written about in this space before is a major increase in the new year’s sales goal. There is not much you can do about the sales goal increases other than talk to your boss as I have previously suggested.
 
 That being said your issues as a manager in particular are unfortunate and perhaps a little troubling. You are supposed to be the cheerleader! If you can neither cheer nor lead, maybe you should reconsider what you are doing; maybe you are in the wrong job. If you lived pretty much anywhere else in the country, I would say that it could be the weather or lack of sun--which is certainly a damper for us east coasters--but in LA, it is clearly just you!
 
 Since I am not a shrink, I will not presume to diagnose you with clinical depression, but as a workplace guru, I’ll say that I am not sure if you need Prozac, a new job, or just a kick in the butt!
 
 The first quarter of the year is and should be an exciting time. You should be rallying your team and letting them know that if they had a bad previous year, it’s time to hit the restart button. This is true socially, at work, on every front of your life. The new year is a blank slate, which is a beautiful gift.
 
 A helpful way to inspire your employees is to remind them that the economy is great in most areas of this country (and certainly L.A.). And no matter where you live in the country the stock market is at an all-time high, and when the stock market goes up, sales eventually follow. That just happens organically. Sales are there to be made, and your retirement savings should be doing alright too! Lots of reasons to feel good about the world right now, unless you are Mariah Carey! Tell yourself and your team that this is a chance to reinvent yourselves--be good if you were bad and better if you were good.
 
 Another big tip is to think: kindness. That’s the word for 2017. Beyond getting on with your job and increasing sales and motivating your team, you want them to reflect and think of acts of kindness they can do for one another, customers and even strangers.
 
 Yes, acts of kindness. Never mind just being grateful, the most overused word this time of year, how about doing something. Nothing feels better than to do even a little task for someone other than yourself. And nothing makes you feel better or think more optimistically than helping someone less fortunate. Gosh, it can even help being a coworker with an idea or holding the door open for a stranger. I know I am venturing into a cheesier realm than I usually venture into, but this is business as well.
 
 If you want to make people excited and feel good, inspire them to do good in the world. Wherever you are, that is my message to you for 2017. A little kindness goes a long way. You are helping yourself, while helping others. What can be better? Happy New Year!
 
 Stephen
 
 You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at: StephenSays@bellow.press.
 
 Questions selected to be answered, will appear in this column. Please use the Subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter @WorkplaceGuru. Like Stephen on Facebook and follow him on LinkedIn.