Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

Good morning.

This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast Podcast.

Today's tip is that you can win the year in October.

People tend to best remember what happened recently, so you can use that insight to your advantage.

I know a lot of organizations do annual reviews toward the end of the calendar year.

You sit down with your manager or you sit down with your direct reports

and talk about people's successes and opportunities for growth,

or whatever your euphemism happens to be.

Theoretically, an annual review is supposed to be just that. Annual. What happened in February

matters as much as what happened in October. But let's be real. How much of February do you remember come November?

Unless you kept meticulous notes and go back and really relive those experiences?

The answer is probably not much.

Whereas the project you just finished is fresh in your mind.

It is naturally going to feel bigger than whatever happened in the past.

So if that is the case, if you would like to shine in this year's annual review, you need a big win to happen shortly

before the review.

If you get reviewed in November or December, that means you can win the year in October.

So think about how you would like to be seen.

What story can you tell about yourself and your

contributions? What could you do over the next few weeks to reinforce the story

...