- Share This Post
- submit
- 0
-
Sparkle (0)
At 11:50 p.m., on December 31, 2009, our dinner host turned on the TV, handed us each a dime and a piece of herring on a cracker. We were instructed at the stroke of midnight to hold the dime, eat the herring, and make a New Year's wish.
Even if I liked herring, which I don't, eating this genus Clupea after champagne and trifle would have no appeal. While it was obvious to my host that I was not playing along with her ritual, she had no way of knowing whether I actually made a New Year's wish. I did, and it was business related.
It's the same wish I make every New Year's, heck it's the same wish I have 365 days a year; I want my business to be successful. I allow myself the Cinderella fantasy that I will have that success when someone comes into my life and changes the stresses of my business by being that angel, that life-preserver, that client with the fabulous retainer, that federal bailout, that I don't have.
Granted, a New Year's wish is not a resolution. But, the likelihood of a Cinderella moment actually happening in my business is about as likely as me fulfilling a resolution that I'm going to get my email in-box under control this year. It's never going to happen. What's the point of making a resolution when the odds of it coming to fruition are about 100,000 to 1?
If you are looking for inspiration and support for your 2010 business resolutions, you have lots of material to review. Bloggers are talking about business resolutions, sharing their own, and advising others how to keep them.
Can I just say, these posts make my teeth hurt? It's not that the advice isn't good. It's not that I disagree with having a vision and strategies for growth and change. I am a true believer.
It makes it feel as if there is a start/stop to them. To me, business resolutions should be more like a Mobius strip: continuous, simple and profound."...a perpetual icon that stimulates us to dream new dreams and look for depths even in seemingly shallow waters." Call me the Ebenezer Scrooge of New Year’s business resolutions but most of the time I hear them and think bah humbug.
My friend Kate* couldn't disagree with me more. An HR executive, she is wildly enthusiastic about New Year's business resolutions. She says that New Year's is a natural time to stop, and reflect about your performance.
I asked her about her own New Year's resolution. It didn't have anything to do with traveling less, answering emails faster, or spending more time with her team. Kate's resolution is more reflective: "Figure out what you do GREAT and do more of it. Know what you do not do well and figure out a way to do less of it."
What I know about Kate is that she isn't just saying this. She has documents which she uses to identify her strengths and weaknesses. She thinks about them in relationship to projects and business opportunities. In other words, Kate has an action plan, and she has a system to monitor her progress on a regular basis.
The whole resolution issue would have much more meaning if we had a resolution check-in day. On this check-in day, people would share what steps they have taken to implement their resolution. They'll also share where they have fallen down. Perhaps others can give them advice or ideas of how to get back on track.
While I think most people treat resolutions as just another seasonal ritual that they forget around January 12th, there are some people who make a resolution, stick to that resolution, and awe the rest of us in the process. That is what happened to me when I read Beth Terry's resolution to reduce her plastic trash to less than 5 lbs. She is the Little Engine That Could of New Year's resolutions. Few people would have attempted what she succeeded in doing. Few people would have said it was even possible.
What is your stand on New Year's resolutions for your business? Are you a Little Engine That Could, embarking on a daring plan that few people think is achievable? Do you have a Cinderella complex, wishin' and hopin' that someone or something will fix all the major problems you face in your business? Or, are you a New Year's Resolution Scrooge?
*Kate is a pseudonym.
Elana
