So how are those business resolutions working for you?

Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Mar 17, 2010

Well, we’re several months into 2010. How are your resolutions working for you?

How often have we all started out the year by making what seemed like great resolutions but then forgotten about them as the year progressed? A great example is at our gym, where the parking lot and machines are always crowded in January as new members join and everyone tries to make up for their holiday over-indulgences. But by mid-February, most of those newbies have fallen by the wayside and you can easily grab a treadmill again.

We would all probably agree that resolutions are a trite, over-used concept, but I think they have merit because they help motivate us to start the year on the right track. Maybe the answer is to make better resolutions. And even though it’s March already, it’s still not too late to make some for the next nine months. Here are some you might want to consider for the remainder of this year:

• Resolve to be a better leader in your organization by teaching, encouraging and motivating your employees.

• Resolve to get a better handle on your company’s finances by reviewing financial statements every month and being attuned to areas that are unproductive, wasteful, or losing money.

• Resolve to provide better customer service to your clients and implement a company-wide program to ensure that you go beyond your customers’ expectations.

• Resolve to reduce your debt. I know debt is sometimes necessary but it sure feels good when you have less of it!

• Resolve to go “green” by doing more with less.

• Resolve to look for simpler solutions before going with ones that are complex.

• Resolve that for the remainder of this year your business will serve you instead of your serving it.

Making resolutions doesn’t ensure that we’ll accomplish what we’ve resolved to do, just as preparing an annual business plan doesn’t necessarily guarantee that plan will be followed. But, much like a business plan, resolutions can give us goals and direction for the coming year and help us focus on the things that are most important. The key is to make better ones that you really want to keep!