Replace those resolutions with questions, says Gayle Lantz, president of WorkMatters. Excerpts below.
I want to know what essential questions do you think businesses should be asking?
“If you’re like most business leaders, you spent much of 2009 feeling down and just about out — an often-inescapable result of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Odds are, you grappled with many new challenges, uncertainties, and “don’t want to, but have to” decisions. Now, 2010 is coming up quickly. Smart leaders will bypass the predictable New Year’s resolutions and, instead, start 2010 with 10 essential questions:
What matters most?
What is one “problem” I can turn into an opportunity?
What is our customers’ greatest pain?
Be relentless about knowing and meeting that need. Skip the complicated surveys. Instead, pick up the phone and ask. Listen and understand first — then get busy offering solutions.
What new business relationships will I pursue?
New opportunities come from new relationships….Remember, too, that even in these boom days of social media, significant business relationships begin with real dialogue — not a tweet.
How will I be more strategic?
Skip the SWOT exercise. Strategic planning isn’t an event — it’s a discipline. …Resist the urge to discuss and deal with tactics until you’re clear on what you want to accomplish. Even then, don’t check strategy off your list — put it into daily practice.”
Posted by Kathy Sandler on Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 12:21 AM