This is the time of the year when we reflect on the past and look to the future, like the Roman god of beginnings and ends, Janus. We get together with friends new and old. We gather up the harvest of what we have done during the past year and make lists, plans, or resolutions of what we would like to accomplish for the next. For many of us, 2009 has been difficult. Personally and professionally, we've had to weather the storm of economic changes that have caused rapid and massive change in our businesses, careers, and networks. Jobs have been lost, teams changed, training discontinued, budgets cut. As I've written previously in this space, "
Although the transitions will be challenging, there are opportunities here." I think it's worth examining a few of the opportunities for 2010 and perhaps some strategies to help us get there.
- Make a list of your accomplishments for 2009 - It's very easy to forget the positive things you and your team have managed to do under difficult circumstances
- Decide which of those accomplishments can be carried into 2010 - Not everything can be brought forward to the new year's "books," but there are some trends you can track and follow forward
- Find the pitfalls from the past year - Make note of the weak spots and areas where you can improve on wins and reverse downtrends. The chief pitfall is deciding ahead of time that your goals cannot be attained.
- Look for opportunities - Professional, personal, team, and individual opportunities exist. Find them and discover how to capitalize on them
Give it some thought.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject of growing into the new year. Please comment.
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I love the idea of consciously choosing the accomplishments we can carry over into the new year. This has been a year of intensive learning and foundation building for me, especially about the tools of social media and blogging.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to continue that learning and building on that foundation in 2010. Because of that I feel a strong sense of optimism and possibility for the year to come.
Wishing you and your family a joyous holiday season and look forward to connecting with you more in the new year.
Thank you for your comment, Susan! I, too, feel a sense of optimism about 2010, and although there's a great deal of work to be done, there are signs that we're making progress.
ReplyDeleteThank you also for the holiday wishes, and the same to you and yours!