The Colts lost this past weekend to the Chiefs. The offense didn’t seem to show up for the game. And after such a hard loss, many would be discouraged. However, instead of dwelling on “what-could-have”‘s, the front office decided to step it up and start building for 2019 right away.

This is something that we all can learn something from, I think.

As you might have read in a recent post of mine, I was very pleased with the results of the team this year. Not just because of the wins, but because of the atmosphere in the locker room.

There’s a true culture there of success there. From the front office all the way down to the newest of players.

The Colts and any teams that haven’t achieved what they wanted to in 2018 are in the same boat.

It is officially the offseason. It’s time to retool and rethink about next year and next season.

Play at a Higher Level in 2019

There are certainly some things that they need to address to get ready for next year. Here’s a few examples:

Personnel Adjustments

Most, if not all, teams need to address their personnel. Maybe someone’s just not working out and they have to be replaced. Maybe the player graduated if they’re in college. Or if they’re in the pros, maybe the front office and player isn’t seeing eye to eye on a new contract.

On the coaching side of things, maybe a coach gets a better opportunity elsewhere. Or perhaps a retired player wants to become a coach – how does he or she fit in?

Personnel is one thing that all teams have to deal with in the off season. You can hear more about what all they need to deal with in this end of season presser with Chris Ballard.

Coaching Adjustments

Even if a team has all the right pieces in place, they have to consider if what they did last year will work the next season if they simply execute better. Chances are, though, that they’ll need to change a few things about what they’re doing because there’s an entire season of footage on what they did last year.

So they need to not only look at their own play calling to see what worked and what didn’t, but they also need to look at other teams around the league. See if there’s strategies they can use to help them get to the next level. Hear more about what Colts coach Frank Reich is going to handle the offseason in this presser.

Fan Outreach

One of the things about the Colts this year is that their ability to connect with fans on social media and in other live events has been great.

As part of the last season, they promoted Amber Derrow as their head of social media and digital content strategy. She has done a wonderful job this season.

In just the last year, you can see a huge jump in engagement in the Colts’ socials. From images, videos and memes posted to the Colts’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, to even becoming a regular in Colts subreddit on Reddit. She’s been everywhere!

Action Steps

One of the quotes that I heard from Bill Belichick in the last couple of seasons is that having to play (and win) in the postseason puts his staff behind everyone else. And it does. Every time they play in the Super Bowl, they’re effective a month behind all the teams that didn’t make it into the playoffs.

As business owners, creatives, and entrepreneurs who use the web to promote what we’re doing, we need to be doing what great organizational leaders do. There are certain things that we can plan out. In a recent video of Pat Flynn’s, he lists a few things that we should look at:

Start with your Content Calendar

Harrison and I, along with other leaders of the Amplify Indy community, have already worked on this pretty extensively. My goal is to write about topics in this blog that mirror what we’re discussing in our local events. That’s why you’re getting this specific post as it’s related to the event this week – Find Your Strength in 2019.

Products and Events

Next, Pat talks about figuring out when you’ll be dropping out products and events. Again, these are things we’ve already started to look at within Amplify – Our monthly events will be each third Wednesday.

Personal Time and Goals

Personal downtime and goals are other things you need to consider. Is how you’ve done things continuing to work for you? Are you in a point where you need to change things a little or a lot?

Recently, if you’ve started following him at all, you might have seen that Brendon Burchard is now living in San Juan. He’s planning to make this a regular thing for him and his wife because he’s tired of winters in the northeast.

On a smaller scale, maybe you want to be healthier this year. Look at your calendar and plan a time for that if that’s the case. It’s so much easier to follow through if you set it in your calendar and make it a habit.

What Else?

There are plenty of other things that I haven’t mentioned that we need to focus on at the beginning of a new cycle. Depending on when that cycle starts for you, you might make those decisions last month, in September, or even start in November. What are some of the things that you focus on during your “offseason”?